Clarkston Capital Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC lessened its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 26.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 102,714 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 37,820 shares during the period. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $13,259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its holdings in 3M by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 227,368 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,081,000 after purchasing an additional 8,456 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in 3M by 27.3% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 34,725 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,747,000 after buying an additional 7,456 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 91,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $11,606,000 after buying an additional 42,978 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,378 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 58.3% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 22,926 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 8,439 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 9.4 %

MMM stock opened at $126.62 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $149.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $90.17 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

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.