Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Cuts Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,182 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 322 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in 3M were worth $282,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 1.2% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 14.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $173,336,000 after purchasing an additional 161,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $154.31 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $134.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.37. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $154.65.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho boosted their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, January 18th. Barclays lifted 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. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M 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 transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 111,889 shares of company stock worth $16,893,561. 0.34% of the stock is owned by 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.