3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,926,809 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 564,350 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.01% of 3M worth $6,315,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 804,916 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $103,907,000 after acquiring an additional 67,385 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $295,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $44,983,000. Umpqua Bank lifted its position in 3M by 22.8% during the fourth quarter. Umpqua Bank now owns 3,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $488,000 after buying an additional 660 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in 3M by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 147,942 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $19,099,000 after buying an additional 17,330 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $150.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $81.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $148.35 and a 200-day moving average of $137.55. 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 has a 52 week low of $85.62 and a 52 week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 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 return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’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 owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently 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.