Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Buys 595 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,711 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,668,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $461,761,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $146.36 on Monday. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $78.14 and a fifty-two week 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 $79.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $144.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.28.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 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.