Van Strum & Towne Inc. Raises Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,120 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $274,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 51.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 651 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Simmons Bank purchased a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth $263,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in 3M by 2.2% in the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 10,967 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.5% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 25,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,528,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $150.58 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.82. 3M has a 1-year low of $85.62 and a 1-year high of $156.35. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $81.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

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.