3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Lake Street Advisors Group LLC

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,051 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 147 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $394,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 8.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 22,465 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 5,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $719,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $205,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of 3M by 2.7% during the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 503,363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $68,810,000 after purchasing an additional 13,315 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 9.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 13,279 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of MMM opened at $150.48 on Friday. 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 has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $155.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.20.

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. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

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.