Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 8,424 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 56.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,389 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,424 shares during the quarter. Buttonwood Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its stake in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $149.61 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $132.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.55. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $152.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $5,770,390 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

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.