3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,825 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 254 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 55,389 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 80,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 2,323 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,181 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,283,000 after purchasing an additional 1,005 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,037 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. The trade was 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. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE MMM opened at $149.90 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.72. The company has a market capitalization of $81.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

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.