Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,480 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 147 shares during the quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMM. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position 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 grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.2% in 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 worth $521,596,000 after buying an additional 43,942 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in 3M by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $173,336,000 after buying an additional 161,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in 3M by 39.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $151,002,000 after buying an additional 308,912 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $144.87 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $140.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

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.