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

Aquatic Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 58.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,287 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 61,313 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $5,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $665,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. Two research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $147.00.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $137.30 on Friday. 3M has a twelve month low of $91.56 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $73.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The company's 50 day moving average is $143.15 and its 200 day moving average is $138.23.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,736 shares of company stock valued at $9,081,260 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

About 3M

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.

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