3M (NYSE:MMM) Holdings Cut by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 37.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,448 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,080 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of 3M by 179.0% in the 3rd quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after buying an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in 3M by 39.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $151,002,000 after buying an additional 308,912 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in 3M by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Trading Up 0.3 %

3M stock opened at $145.42 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $140.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.85. 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 has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. The stock has a market cap of $78.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued 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. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % 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 valued at $17,163,446 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

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.