3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Associated Banc Corp

Associated Banc Corp lowered its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 33.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,891 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,475 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Thursday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Up 3.1 %

MMM opened at $150.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $146.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a 12-month low of $85.62 and a 12-month high of $156.35.

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

3M Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.