White Pine Capital LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

White Pine Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,768 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 95 shares during the quarter. 3M comprises approximately 4.3% of White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $12,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its position in 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $148.69 on Friday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $138.19 and its 200-day moving average is $133.52. The company has a market capitalization of $80.73 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 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.