Kessler Investment Group LLC Trims Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kessler Investment Group LLC lessened its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 516 shares during the quarter. 3M comprises approximately 0.8% of Kessler Investment Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Kessler Investment Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

Insider Activity

In other 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 value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $148.65 on Friday. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. The stock has a market cap of $80.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $138.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.62.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

3M Company 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.