Toth Financial Advisory Corp Sells 605 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Toth Financial Advisory Corp cut its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,072 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 605 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its stake 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 period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 40.1% in the third 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 increased its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Melius Research upgraded 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. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $149.61 on Friday. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $152.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $132.83 and its 200 day moving average is $129.15. The company has a market cap of $81.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5,770,390 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 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.