MONECO Advisors LLC Sells 137 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

MONECO Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 137 shares during the period. MONECO Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.8% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

3M Trading Up 0.3 %

MMM opened at $145.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $155.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50-day moving average is $140.94 and its 200 day moving average is $134.85.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.