Jones Financial Companies Lllp Sells 277 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Jones Financial Companies Lllp decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,835 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 277 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp’s holdings in 3M were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in 3M by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,521,626 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,427,000 after purchasing an additional 253,623 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.1 %

3M stock opened at $147.74 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $80.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average of $145.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.53. 3M has a twelve month low of $81.23 and a twelve month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup lifted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M 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.