Accredited Investors Inc. Trims Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Accredited Investors Inc. reduced its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,693 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,932 shares during the quarter. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,704,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 7.3% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 91,019 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,442,000 after purchasing an additional 3,436 shares during the last quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 61.8% during the third quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 7.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Avengers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the third quarter worth about $132,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 8.8 %

Shares of MMM opened at $138.40 on Thursday. 3M has a one year low of $90.17 and a one year high of $156.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $147.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.43. 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 company has a market capitalization of $74.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday. 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade 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 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.