Financial Advocates Investment Management Has $683,000 Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Financial Advocates Investment Management trimmed its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,289 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 356 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in 3M were worth $683,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,567 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Inman Jager Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $1,338,000. Choreo LLC increased its position in 3M by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 70,444 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,094,000 after buying an additional 513 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of 3M by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 14,974 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 38.2% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 118,288 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $15,330,000 after acquiring an additional 32,709 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $149.90 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $136.78 and a 200-day moving average of $132.21.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

3M 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.