Smithfield Trust Co Sells 250 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Smithfield Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,332 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,465,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings 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 worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th 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 period. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $816,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Trading Down 5.0 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $145.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $79.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 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 has a 1 year low of $76.56 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $143.53 and a 200 day moving average of $135.87.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. 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 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 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, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the 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 owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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.

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.