Signaturefd LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Signaturefd LLC reduced its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,164 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,054,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in 3M by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in 3M by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Down 1.7 %

3M stock opened at $150.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $81.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52 week low of $85.62 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $147.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

3M 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.