Scotia Capital Inc. Trims Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 70,653 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 24,788 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $9,121,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in 3M by 55.7% in the 4th 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. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 321.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $141,708,000 after acquiring an additional 837,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $103,788,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $147.13.

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Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM traded up $3.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $135.97. The company had a trading volume of 3,337,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,133,903. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $146.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.40. 3M has a 52-week low of $90.17 and a 52-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. The company has a market capitalization of $73.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.