Evergreen Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Evergreen Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 318 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Operose Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,677.3% during the 4th quarter. Operose Advisors LLC now owns 4,461 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $576,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 12,192 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,574,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,308.1% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 138,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,863,000 after purchasing an additional 128,546 shares during the period. Finally, Tribune Investment Group LP acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,454,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $130.16 on Friday. 3M has a 1-year low of $90.65 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $144.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.26.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.47.

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.