3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Twin Tree Management LP

Twin Tree Management LP lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 36.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 89,664 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 51,593 shares during the period. Twin Tree Management LP’s holdings in 3M were worth $11,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 51.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 651 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in 3M by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 154,449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $21,113,000 after acquiring an additional 47,817 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at $422,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,013 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,751,000 after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TrinityPoint Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.1% in the third quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 15,074 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MMM. Citigroup raised 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America increased their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % 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.

3M Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $153.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $83.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 52 week low of $85.62 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.04.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

3M 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.