MBA Advisors LLC Sells 727 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

MBA Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 21.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,603 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 727 shares during the period. MBA Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in 3M by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in 3M by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Melius upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $149.90 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.72. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

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.