Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Cuts Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc trimmed its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,199 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,714 shares during the period. Marks Group Wealth Management Inc’s holdings in 3M were worth $671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third 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 lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of 3M by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $173,336,000 after purchasing an additional 161,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MMM. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.8 %

3M stock opened at $148.86 on Thursday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The firm has a market cap of $80.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $137.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.