First Merchants Corp Acquires New Shares in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

First Merchants Corp acquired a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,079 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 26.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its stake in 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.0 %

MMM opened at $148.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $138.49 and its 200 day moving average is $133.62. The stock has a market cap of $80.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company’s Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.