MSH Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,344 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.47.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $135.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.70 and a 200 day moving average of $138.36. 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 12-month low of $90.17 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The company has a market cap of $72.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s 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.