Groupama Asset Managment Purchases Shares of 16,174 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 16,174 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $2,089,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 26.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in 3M by 1.4% during 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 during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth approximately $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,408,000 after purchasing an additional 22,203 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $147.85 on Thursday. 3M has a 52-week low of $89.54 and a 52-week high of $156.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $79.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $149.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.56.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. Analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS 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 dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.