Chelsea Counsel Co. Acquires New Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 18,792 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $2,426,000. 3M comprises approximately 1.3% of Chelsea Counsel Co.'s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 230.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $153.46.

3M Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE MMM traded down $1.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $148.20. 5,262,470 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,967,055. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $96.89 and a fifty-two 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 $79.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $141.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.56.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. Analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. 3M's payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,654,663.64. This represents a 19.83% 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 company insiders.

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.