3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by AMG National Trust Bank

AMG National Trust Bank lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,109 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 867 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in 3M were worth $272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 737,075 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,758,000 after purchasing an additional 97,741 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,915,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 651 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kerusso Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 22,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock opened at $146.36 on Friday. 3M has a 12-month low of $78.14 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The company has a market capitalization of $79.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $144.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.23.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.