3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Asset Dedication LLC

Asset Dedication LLC cut its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,295 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 803 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MMM. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $112,107,000 after buying an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 39.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $151,002,000 after buying an additional 308,912 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,291 shares of company stock valued at $9,339,786 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MMM opened at $151.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $152.96. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.23.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.