J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,858 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Wynn Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 0.8% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, William Allan Corp boosted its stake in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 5,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $769,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $148.85 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $139.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.03.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.