Heritage Investors Management Corp Sells 175 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Heritage Investors Management Corp trimmed its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,279 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in 3M by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in 3M by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in 3M by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC increased its position in 3M by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $150.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.20. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 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 analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.