Diametric Capital LP Cuts Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Diametric Capital LP lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,159 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,158 shares during the quarter. Diametric Capital LP's holdings in 3M were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 10.3% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 23,580 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 2,200 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 2,947.5% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,224 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,491,000 after acquiring an additional 17,626 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 7.9% during the third 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. ClearAlpha Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in 3M during the third quarter worth about $2,375,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Remove Ads

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM traded down $13.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $126.62. 9,608,022 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,099,389. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.55. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $90.17 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. 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 (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.68%.

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.