3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by RIA Advisory Group LLC

RIA Advisory Group LLC lowered its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,704 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 357 shares during the quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Markel Corp increased its position in shares of 3M by 6.5% during the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 269,750 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $40,161,000 after acquiring an additional 16,550 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 5.3% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 6,513 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 17.6% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 6,532 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 73.0% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,275 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $190,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM traded up $0.79 on Friday, hitting $92.27. 3,558,585 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,868,183. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.77 and its 200 day moving average is $97.22. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $95.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -47.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MMM. StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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.