Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,197 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,968 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,197 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its stake in shares of 3M by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 110,988 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,391,000 after purchasing an additional 14,775 shares during the last quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 49.7% during the 3rd quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,723,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,908,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $91.83. The company had a trading volume of 4,520,901 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,283,067. The company has a market capitalization of $50.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $95.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.37.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.58%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMM. Bank of America decreased their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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, Barclays dropped their target price on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Company 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.