Sentry LLC Has $1.27 Million Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Sentry LLC decreased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,835 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Sentry LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMM. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the third 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. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its stake in 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $112,107,000 after buying an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in 3M by 39.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $151,002,000 after buying an additional 308,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,291 shares of company stock worth $9,339,786. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $151.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $130.23. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $152.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.53 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 37.09%.

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.