Fmr LLC Lowers Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

FMR LLC lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,767,829 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 194,037 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned about 1.61% of 3M worth $1,131,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 3M by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,493,655,000 after acquiring an additional 280,048 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $636,767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $461,761,000 after buying an additional 17,228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in 3M by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,540,883 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $328,003,000 after buying an additional 533,753 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $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 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "underperform" rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $147.13.

3M Price Performance

MMM traded up $1.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $134.73. 1,040,738 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,120,475. 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 company has a market capitalization of $72.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. 3M has a 1 year low of $90.17 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The business's 50 day moving average price is $146.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.40.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.