Delta Financial Group Inc. Sells 189 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Delta Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,642 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Delta Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,509,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $144.87 on Friday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.62.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares in the company, valued at $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

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.