Vest Financial LLC Sells 3,706 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Vest Financial LLC trimmed its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 22.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,108 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,706 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in 3M by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MMM. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $149.90 on Friday. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $132.52. The company has a market capitalization of $81.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. On average, 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.09%.

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.