Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. Invests $27,000 in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 215 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 2,466.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 44.1% during 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. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Up 1.5 %

MMM stock opened at $147.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $79.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 12 month low of $88.23 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently 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.