3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Harbour Investments Inc.

Harbour Investments Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,235 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $337,815,000 after buying an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $103,788,000. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the third quarter valued at $82,208,000. Finally, Parsifal Capital Management LP boosted its position in 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $112,107,000 after purchasing an additional 526,194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 1.7 %

3M stock opened at $150.64 on Wednesday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $147.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52 week low of $85.62 and a 52 week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 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.