Kentucky Trust Co Invests $1.81 Million in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kentucky Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 14,001 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,807,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in 3M by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,628 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 2,768 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 1,450.6% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,419 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 2,263 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $210,000. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $466,000 after purchasing an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % 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 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $150.06 on Wednesday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.44 and a 200 day moving average of $133.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

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.