Stephens Inc. AR Sells 466 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 54,339 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 466 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in 3M were worth $7,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 47,161 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,447,000 after purchasing an additional 6,671 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in shares of 3M by 19.5% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,474 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 326.7% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,785 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,000 after buying an additional 2,898 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 6,470 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $884,000 after buying an additional 2,382 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in 3M by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 7,628 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 2,768 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE MMM opened at $149.90 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $137.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $132.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 1.95%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

About 3M

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.