Essential Planning LLC. Takes $4.53 Million Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Essential Planning LLC. bought a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 34,483 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $4,527,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $150.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $81.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.68 and a 200-day moving average of $136.63. 3M has a one year low of $82.94 and a one year high of $156.35.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, 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 approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Company 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.