DnB Asset Management AS Purchases 21,479 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 164,004 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,479 shares during the quarter. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in 3M were worth $21,171,000 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 the stock. denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $487,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth $9,984,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 314,194 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,559,000 after acquiring an additional 42,385 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. Finally, Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $1,541,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMM. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE MMM opened at $144.74 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52 week low of $88.23 and a 52 week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its 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 the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.