3M (NYSE:MMM) Position Boosted by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 40,790 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $5,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Essential Planning LLC. purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,527,000. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in 3M by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 29,759 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,949 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $144,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 40,404 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $5,216,000 after buying an additional 7,342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 470,436 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $60,729,000 after buying an additional 51,941 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.13.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM traded up $2.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $153.20. The stock had a trading volume of 2,343,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,081,653. 3M has a 52 week low of $85.62 and a 52 week high of $156.35. 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 capitalization of $83.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

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.