3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Position Trimmed by JNBA Financial Advisors

JNBA Financial Advisors decreased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,366 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors’ holdings in 3M were worth $693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in 3M by 30.3% during the 4th quarter. J.P. Marvel Investment Advisors LLC now owns 66,471 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,581,000 after acquiring an additional 15,457 shares in the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 4,171 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $22,481,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in 3M by 32.6% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 35,244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,550,000 after purchasing an additional 8,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 76.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 12,022 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,552,000 after purchasing an additional 5,195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $148.65 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.79. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMM. Barclays boosted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % 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 valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.