Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Boosts Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 430,508 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,075 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned 0.08% of 3M worth $55,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $1,841,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $337,815,000 after buying an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 20,685 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,670,000 after buying an additional 6,369 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 24,140 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,116,000 after buying an additional 2,249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $1,993,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $147.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $144.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.41. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $78.14 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday. Bank of America raised their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

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.