3M Insider Sells Holdings in Company

3M Co. (MMM) Chairman, President and CEO Inge Thulin (Insider Trades) sold 28,183 shares for $177.48 per share on Feb. 9. The total transaction was $5,001,919.

3M Co. (NYSE:MMM) is fundamentally a science-based company. They produce thousands of imaginative products, and they're a leader in scores of markets - from health care and highway safety to office products and abrasives and adhesives. Their success begins with their ability to apply their technologies - often in combination - to an endless array of real-world customer needs. Of course, all of this is made possible by the people of 3M and their singular commitment to make life easier and better for people around the world. They leverage these competencies to create innovative solutions for our customers and to also provide investors with attractive long-term returns. The company has a market cap of $106.86 billion.

The volume and number of insider sells decreased each year from 2013 to 2015. 3M insiders sold 484,684 shares of the company in 2013 and 294,010 shares in the following year. In 2015, the number of insider shares sold decreased to 218,855 shares. In 2016, the number of insider shares sold increased to 235,128.

Since 2013, Thulin sold 273,775 shares in 17 transactions. Thulin's earliest transaction during this period, 5,614 shares for $125.20 per share, increased in value by nearly 50% since the purchase. In 2017, there have been four insider sells, three of which were conducted by Thulin and amount to 50,792 shares.

Executive Vice President Hak Cheol Shin (Insider Trades) conducted the other 3M insider sell of 47,528 shares. Both Thulin and Shin decreased their holdings in 3M for a per share price of about $177. For more information about insider transactions with 3M, click here.

The company reported increased net sales of $7.329 billion for the fourth quarter of 2016, up from $7.298 billion reported by the company in the fourth quarter of 2015. 3M also reported an increase in net income from $1.038 billion, or $1.66 per share, to $1.155 billion, or $1.88 per share when comparing the same time periods. Cash dividends increased as well, from $1.025 per common stock to $1.11 per share of common stock. The company's annual revenue increased 0.49% since 2012 and follows an increasing trend line, as does the company's annual net income, which increased 3.41% since 2012.

Thulin commented that the fourth quarter of 2016 "capped a successful year" for the company, and it achieved "double-digit growth in earnings per share, expanded margins and delivered robust cash flow." Thulin continued by stating the company is "well positioned to build" on the momentum felt in the fourth quarter and "deliver another strong performance in 2017." For more financial statistics on 3M, click here.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, Ken Fisher reduced his stake in 3M while Chuck Royce (Trades, Portfolio) increased his stake in the company.

Fisher sold 2,930 shares of the company at an average per share price of $172.58, reducing his holding by 2.9%. Fisher reduced his holding in the company by at least 2% each quarter since the first quarter of 2016. The total estimated gain since the first quarter of 2013 is 16%.

Royce increased his position in the company by 10%, purchasing 700 shares of 3M at an average per share price of $172.58. The total estimated gain of the holding since the first quarter in 2011 is 68%.