3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 59.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,302 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 73,922 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in 3M were worth $6,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 2,947.5% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,224 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,491,000 after buying an additional 17,626 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 3,176 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $434,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 73.4% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 21,204 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,899,000 after acquiring an additional 8,978 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 3.9% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 227,368 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $31,081,000 after acquiring an additional 8,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its holdings in 3M by 26.9% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 16,078 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target 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 reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 9.4 %

MMM traded down $13.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $126.62. 9,608,022 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,097,088. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $89.54 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The company has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $149.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.51.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share 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 given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

3M 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.