3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Position Reduced by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC decreased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,776 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,033 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,649,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $851,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Finally, Braun Stacey Associates Inc. raised its position in 3M by 18.4% during the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $18,408,000 after acquiring an additional 22,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MMM shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Down 5.4 %

NYSE MMM opened at $139.76 on Friday. 3M has a twelve month low of $89.54 and a twelve month high of $156.35. 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 market cap of $75.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.57.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

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.