Elgethun Capital Management Lowers Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Elgethun Capital Management lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 497 shares during the period. Elgethun Capital Management’s holdings in 3M were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its position 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 worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MMM. Barclays upped their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company 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 raised their price target for the stock 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 research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $126.62 on Monday. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $90.17 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $149.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.58. The firm has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 company earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Company 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.