Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 728,752 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,323 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $94,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Allan Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 5,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $769,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $148.85 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

About 3M

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.