AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,648 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. AIMZ Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $150.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.20. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00. The company has a market capitalization of $81.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G 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.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

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.