Blair William & Co. IL Cuts Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,619 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,869 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in 3M were worth $10,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.55. 907,391 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,085,206. 3M has a 52-week low of $89.54 and a 52-week high of $156.35. 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 has a market cap of $79.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $149.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.49.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company's revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. 3M's payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company's stock, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.