Beacon Financial Advisory LLC Has $947,000 Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Beacon Financial Advisory LLC decreased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,340 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 341 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Advisory LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in 3M by 1.9% during the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 4,174 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its stake in 3M by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in 3M by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MMM shares. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % 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 worth $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MMM opened at $152.43 on Thursday. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. The stock has a market cap of $83.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $135.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.93. 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 (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

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.