Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. Makes New Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Lifelong Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,876 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $630,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. grew its position in 3M by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $18,408,000 after acquiring an additional 22,203 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $130.16. The company had a trading volume of 4,951,917 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,153,305. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. 3M has a 52-week low of $90.65 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $144.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.26.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 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 2.24%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.47.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.