Strategic Planning Group LLC Reduces Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Strategic Planning Group LLC reduced its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 49.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,599 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 27,521 shares during the quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 17,211 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in 3M by 118.6% in the 3rd 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. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, January 18th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 62,291 shares of company stock valued at $9,339,786. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $151.55 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $133.72 and its 200 day moving average is $130.23. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $152.96. 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 company has a market cap of $82.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

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.