3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Baxter Bros Inc.

Baxter Bros Inc. trimmed its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,539 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 77 shares during the quarter. Baxter Bros Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ariadne Wealth Management LP raised its position in 3M by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Ariadne Wealth Management LP now owns 2,838 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its position in shares of 3M by 254.0% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 446 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association raised its holdings in 3M by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 55,071 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,109,000 after buying an additional 1,061 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $114,000. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,440,005 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $185,890,000 after acquiring an additional 30,506 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $153.35 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.71. The company has a market capitalization of $83.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52-week low of $85.62 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last quarter. 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.