Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. trimmed its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,457 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 488 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 8.6% during the third 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 in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 118.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in 3M by 2,466.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.13.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $141.02 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $141.66. The stock has a market cap of $76.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $131.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.56.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.35%.

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.