Ridgewood Investments LLC Decreases Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ridgewood Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,671 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 96 shares during the quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 17,211 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 689.7% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Down 2.7 %

NYSE:MMM traded down $3.65 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $130.88. 1,402,243 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,992,948. The firm has a market cap of $71.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $130.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.11.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Melius upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho raised their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.33.

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.