3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 31,668 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 855 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 118.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $148.65 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 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 current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.62.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. 3M’s payout ratio is 37.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M 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 in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Melius raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

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.