Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Sells 1,011 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,566 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $7,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 89.9% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.70.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MMM traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,818,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,770,578. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.71. The company has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $99.70.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $1.51 dividend. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.48%.

About 3M

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.