Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC Sells 8,929 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC cut its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,795 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 8,929 shares during the period. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $5,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MMM traded down $1.12 on Thursday, hitting $149.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,231,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,913,799. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $139.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.31. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $80.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. 3M's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate 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.