Blair William & Co. IL Decreases Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 82,619 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,869 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in 3M were worth $10,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NEOS Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 31,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,082,000 after acquiring an additional 7,463 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in 3M by 27.2% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 38,958 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,029,000 after purchasing an additional 8,329 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 3M by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 987,896 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $128,298,000 after purchasing an additional 50,641 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 4,450 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $574,000 after buying an additional 633 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 204.2% during the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 6,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 4,281 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’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 value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $144.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a twelve month low of $88.23 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.23. 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 (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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 company posted $2.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 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 dividend yield of 2.02%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

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.