Patten & Patten Inc. TN Sells 747 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN cut its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 19,241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 747 shares during the period. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after buying an additional 302,900 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $461,761,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE MMM opened at $150.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52 week low of $85.62 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $146.42 and a 200-day moving average of $136.86.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

About 3M

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.