Woodward Diversified Capital LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,787 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 8.6% in the third quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 17,211 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 47,161 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,447,000 after buying an additional 6,671 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the third quarter worth $213,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in 3M by 19.5% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,474 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 7.0% in the third quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,475 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Trading Down 1.6 %

MMM stock opened at $149.90 on Friday. 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 $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.21. The company has a market capitalization of $81.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is 37.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.