QV Investors Inc. Sells 4,195 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

QV Investors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,195 shares during the quarter. 3M comprises about 1.4% of QV Investors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. QV Investors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $13,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its position in 3M by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $153.46.

3M Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of MMM opened at $148.20 on Monday. 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 $97.68 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $141.33 and its 200-day moving average is $140.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.