Trillium Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Trillium Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,391 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 78 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 26.8% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth 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 period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $816,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped 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. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $153.20 on Thursday. 3M has a 1-year low of $85.62 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $147.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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 (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders 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 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s 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 owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.