Viawealth LLC Trims Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Viawealth LLC lessened its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 19.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,615 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $467,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MMM. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,468.3% in the fourth quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 55,250 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,132,000 after purchasing an additional 51,727 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its position in 3M by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 747,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $96,553,000 after buying an additional 280,015 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of 3M by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 232,477 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,010,000 after acquiring an additional 5,109 shares during the period. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 96,536 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,462,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $153.20 on Thursday. 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 twelve month low of $85.62 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a market cap of $83.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50 day moving average is $147.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.26.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.