3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,262 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 4,212 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $0.59 on Friday, reaching $146.36. 5,891,015 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,315,292. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $144.51 and a 200-day moving average of $136.23. 3M has a twelve month low of $78.14 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The firm has a market cap of $79.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

Remove Ads

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. 3M's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the firm'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 value of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MMM. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.13.

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.