3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Fisher Asset Management LLC

Fisher Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,277 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 460 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Terril Brothers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $5,225,000. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,510,000. Tufton Capital Management grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Tufton Capital Management now owns 32,091 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,143,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. Pettyjohn Wood & White Inc. now owns 2,698 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC now owns 20,448 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,640,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $147.74 on Thursday. 3M has a 12-month low of $76.86 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The firm has a market cap of $80.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $143.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chairman now directly 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.