Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,926,809 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 564,350 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.01% of 3M worth $6,315,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.3% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 737,531 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $100,820,000 after buying an additional 9,158 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,191,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in 3M by 92.7% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 610,010 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $83,388,000 after purchasing an additional 293,418 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 2.2% in the third quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 4,263 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its stake in 3M by 10.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 418,438 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $57,200,000 after buying an additional 39,206 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday. Bank of America increased their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.13.

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Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents 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, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.53. The company had a trading volume of 4,117,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,016,672. 3M has a one year low of $85.62 and a one year 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 company's 50-day moving average price is $148.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.71. The firm has a market cap of $83.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business's revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.