Delta Financial Group Inc. Has $986,000 Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Delta Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,642 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $986,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after acquiring an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its stake in 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Bank of America lifted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Down 2.8 %

MMM stock opened at $144.87 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About 3M

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.