Prudential Financial Inc. Has $185.89 Million Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,440,005 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 30,506 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.27% of 3M worth $185,890,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 19,552 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $150.35 on Monday. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.62 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.55.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

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.