3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 68,566 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the period. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $7,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in 3M during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in 3M by 91.9% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel acquired a new stake in 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now 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 is available at this link. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.70.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MMM traded up $0.34 on Friday, hitting $97.15. 4,818,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,770,578. The company has a market cap of $53.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.71. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $99.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.48%.

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.