WINTON GROUP Ltd Sells 3,343 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

WINTON GROUP Ltd trimmed its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,671 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 3,343 shares during the quarter. 3M accounts for about 1.2% of WINTON GROUP Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. WINTON GROUP Ltd's holdings in 3M were worth $18,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its position in 3M by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM traded down $3.70 on Friday, reaching $144.74. 2,581,499 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,133,279. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $149.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.23. 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 firm has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 12 month low of $88.23 and a 12 month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid 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 dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.