3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Position Lowered by Patten & Patten Inc. TN

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,241 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 747 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,484,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 2,466.7% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in 3M by 44.1% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Stock Up 3.1 %

MMM stock opened at $150.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.62 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report 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 report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment 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 an average price target of $149.13.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, 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 transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About 3M

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.