Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. Increases Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 204.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,281 shares during the quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C.’s holdings in 3M were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $337,815,000 after buying an additional 898,244 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,788,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $112,107,000 after purchasing an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $44,983,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $148.48 on Friday. 3M has a 12-month low of $87.45 and a 12-month 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.