Principle Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Principle Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,977 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 865 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $5,806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in 3M by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Allan Corp increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 5,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $769,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MMM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Melius raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $149.59 on Tuesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $155.00. The business’s 50-day moving average is $137.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $132.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 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.