3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,668 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 855 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

3M Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $148.65 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $138.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.62. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 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 (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. 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. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Barclays boosted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Melius upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.