Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Purchases New Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Freedom LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in 3M during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $111.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.60.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $105.36. 1,439,042 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,055,671. 3M has a twelve month low of $85.35 and a twelve month high of $113.14. The company has a market capitalization of $58.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.82%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About 3M

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.