F M Investments LLC Sells 6,518 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

F M Investments LLC decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 26.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,518 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,299,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $259,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.2% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,547 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,417,000 after purchasing an additional 13,193 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in 3M by 22.4% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,768 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in 3M by 255.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 78,978 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,796,000 after purchasing an additional 56,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in 3M by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 72,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,943,000 after purchasing an additional 22,461 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their target price on 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.13.

3M Stock Up 2.3 %

MMM opened at $135.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $73.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $146.37 and its 200 day moving average is $138.40. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $90.17 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 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.