Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 328 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,814 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 328 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $636,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 3,603 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 3,461 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares during the last quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,815 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,938,263 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $211,891,000 after buying an additional 78,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $1,161,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

3M Trading Down 0.1 %

MMM stock opened at $90.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $95.67. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.26.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.64%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -47.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MMM. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

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.