Empower Advisory Group LLC Trims Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Empower Advisory Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,253 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,553 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 81.5% during the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $148.85 on Wednesday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $139.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.03.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

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.