Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC Sells 837 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 22.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 837 shares during the quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in 3M by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised 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 buying an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $154.31 on Friday. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $154.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.54. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $84.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.95.

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 $5.77 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. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This trade represents a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 111,889 shares of company stock valued at $16,893,561 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, January 18th. 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. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

About 3M

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.