SRH Advisors LLC Lowers Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

SRH Advisors LLC lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. SRH Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 19,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $150.06 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.25. The firm has a market cap of $81.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $155.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

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.