3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Acquired by Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.

Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. lifted its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 34.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,516 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares during the quarter. 3M comprises 1.0% of Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in 3M by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 19,552 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its position in 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $155.25 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $84.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.50.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

About 3M

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.