Phoenix Financial Ltd. Has $225,000 Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Phoenix Financial Ltd. increased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,740 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its holdings in 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $18,408,000 after buying an additional 22,203 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $135.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.40. 3M has a 12-month low of $90.17 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm 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 business’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.13.

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.