B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 2,864 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 31,012 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,864 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Armis Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $940,000. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Shufro Rose & Co. LLC now owns 3,682 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 12,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $105,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.08.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $147.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $79.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $141.69 and its 200 day moving average is $140.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 52-week low of $96.76 and a 52-week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.87%.

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.