Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 56,946 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 10,298 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $7,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norden Group LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 3,121 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth $89,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 45.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the last quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co. now owns 8,733 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,127,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 20,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,623,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Trading Up 3.1 %

3M stock opened at $155.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.73 and a 200 day moving average of $135.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $155.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

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. The company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.