RFG Advisory LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

RFG Advisory LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,998 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,234 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $387,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MMM. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its stake in 3M by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Up 1.3 %

3M stock opened at $151.44 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $132.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.55. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $152.08. The company has a market capitalization of $82.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,359,457.18. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 53,903 shares of company stock valued at $8,082,186. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.