Abacus Planning Group Inc. Sells 249 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 13.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,606 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in 3M by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,898 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated grew its stake in shares of 3M by 12.0% in the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,028 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA now owns 3,451 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 1,150 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,037 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,716,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 33,181 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,283,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE MMM opened at $145.58 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03. 3M has a 52 week low of $98.26 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.18 and a 200-day moving average of $141.44.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced 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. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.46.

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.