Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 50.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,962 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,975 shares during the quarter. Schwarz Dygos Wheeler Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,841,000. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in 3M by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 20,685 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,670,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in 3M by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 24,140 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,116,000 after purchasing an additional 2,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. purchased a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,993,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MMM. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $146.36 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $144.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.28. 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 $79.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a one year low of $78.14 and a one year high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 2.00%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M 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.