Founders Financial Alliance LLC Sells 100 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Founders Financial Alliance LLC decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMM. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew 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 valued at $20,004,000 after acquiring an additional 20,421 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,678 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in 3M by 88.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $147.74 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $145.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.53. 3M has a 1-year low of $81.23 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $80.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

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.