First Horizon Advisors Inc. Has $2.51 Million Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 40.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,927 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 15,281 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in 3M by 89.9% in the 4th 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 raised its stake in 3M by 91.9% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel acquired a new stake in 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $97.15 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 0.76. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $99.70.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their price target on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.70.

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.