3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp trimmed its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,330 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $144.87 on Monday. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year 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. The firm has a market cap of $78.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $140.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.71.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

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.