Marshall Wace LLP Sells 49,102 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Marshall Wace LLP lessened its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,511 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 49,102 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in 3M were worth $21,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,493,655,000 after purchasing an additional 280,048 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 17,228 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup cut their target price on 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $146.73.

3M Stock Up 0.8 %

MMM stock traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.40. The stock had a trading volume of 2,051,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,400,784. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 1-year low of $90.65 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $143.82 and a 200 day moving average of $138.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.