Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 165 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,900 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in 3M by 16.2% during 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position 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 buying an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $151.73 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $82.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $135.61 and a 200-day moving average of $131.59.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 37.09%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Melius raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.