Investment House LLC Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Investment House LLC reduced its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,368 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Investment House LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its position in 3M by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in 3M by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $153.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $83.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1-year low of $85.62 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

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.