Advisors Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 266,170 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 53,200 shares during the quarter. 3M accounts for approximately 0.6% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $34,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $461,761,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $153.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $83.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1-year low of $85.62 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.