Heritage Investors Management Corp Sells 175 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Heritage Investors Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,279 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 175 shares during the period. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 240,525 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,049,000 after purchasing an additional 14,809 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of 3M by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,521,626 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,427,000 after purchasing an additional 253,623 shares in the last quarter. DMKC Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,594,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 102,635 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $13,249,000 after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $150.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $81.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $142.21 and its 200-day moving average is $135.20.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup boosted 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 reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

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.