Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Decreases Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,413 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 447 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,764,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the third quarter worth about $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.13.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $141.02 on Friday. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $141.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $131.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $127.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.80 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.35%.

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.