Valmark Advisers Inc. Reduces Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Valmark Advisers Inc. lowered its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,184 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $669,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $148.65 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $138.80 and its 200 day moving average is $133.88. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 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 company has a market cap of $80.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.