First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Grows Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 43,059 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $851,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in 3M by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 642,354 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $82,921,000 after buying an additional 145,146 shares in the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its position in 3M by 18.4% during the fourth 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. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. increased its position in 3M by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 12,516 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC increased its position in 3M by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 74,518 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,620,000 after buying an additional 2,907 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $145.58 on Monday. 3M has a twelve month low of $98.26 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $141.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $141.44.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MMM. Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.