Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans reduced its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,595 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,418 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in 3M were worth $7,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 737,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $100,820,000 after buying an additional 9,158 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,191,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 610,010 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $83,388,000 after purchasing an additional 293,418 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 4,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of 3M by 10.3% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 418,438 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $57,200,000 after purchasing an additional 39,206 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $150.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.55. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

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.