Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC Has $1.03 Million Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lessened its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,963 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. State Street Corp raised its position in 3M by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of 3M by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $521,596,000 after buying an additional 43,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in 3M by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $461,761,000 after acquiring an additional 17,228 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective 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 Saturday. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $153.53 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $149.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 52-week low of $85.62 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The stock has a market cap of $83.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.