Larson Financial Group LLC Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Larson Financial Group LLC trimmed its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,665 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 556 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc. now owns 24,404 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,285,000 after purchasing an additional 2,583 shares during the last quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ziegler Capital Management LLC now owns 19,626 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 12,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 81.4% during the 3rd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,585 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 265,023.1% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 68,932 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,453,000 after purchasing an additional 68,906 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MMM shares. StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays dropped their target price on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered their price target on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

3M Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of 3M stock traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $93.29. 1,647,834 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,775,730. 3M has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $95.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.72 and a 200-day moving average of $97.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -47.82%.

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.