Marietta Investment Partners LLC Sells 2,000 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Marietta Investment Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,210 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Marietta Investment Partners LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in 3M by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $103,788,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 179.0% during the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $112,107,000 after purchasing an additional 526,194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM traded down $0.85 on Wednesday, hitting $152.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,836,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,002,748. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.99. 3M has a one year low of $86.11 and a one year high of $156.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

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3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. 3M's quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % 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, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % 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 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.13.

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.