3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 699 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,590,533,000 after purchasing an additional 317,483 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in 3M by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,311,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,334,173,000 after acquiring an additional 196,238 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 3M by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,474,791 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,203,635,000 after acquiring an additional 619,370 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,315,417 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,684,639,000 after acquiring an additional 758,126 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its position in 3M by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,769,973 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,291,535,000 after acquiring an additional 825,223 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of MMM traded up $1.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $105.93. 2,175,050 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,069,318. The company has a market cap of $58.55 billion, a PE ratio of -8.35, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.89 and its 200-day moving average is $97.74. 3M has a 52 week low of $85.35 and a 52 week high of $113.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.70%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup cut their price objective on 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $111.00 to $126.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com began coverage on 3M in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.60.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.