Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 5,418 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,595 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,418 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in 3M were worth $7,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $149.13.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.1 %

3M stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $153.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,210,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,027,325. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $148.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.71. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $85.62 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a market capitalization of $83.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.