Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.64 Million Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,968 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,197 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 1,273.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 157.2% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $197,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,459 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 8,766.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $118,168,000 after buying an additional 1,068,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of 3M by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,944,135 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $275,630,000 after buying an additional 506,654 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock traded up $0.42 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.83. 4,520,901 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,283,067. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $95.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.82 billion, a PE ratio of -7.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. 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 yield of 6.58%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently -47.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company 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.