Elgethun Capital Management Decreases Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Elgethun Capital Management lowered its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 497 shares during the quarter. Elgethun Capital Management’s holdings in 3M were worth $888,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $576,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of 3M by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of 3M by 321.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $141,708,000 after purchasing an additional 837,226 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $103,788,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 9.4 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $126.62 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $149.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.58. The stock 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 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 12-month low of $90.17 and a 12-month high of $156.35.

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

3M Increases Dividend

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