Northcape Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,273 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 337 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in 3M by 14.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $173,336,000 after buying an additional 161,036 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $148.85 on Wednesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $155.00. 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 stock has a market cap of $80.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $139.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.20.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion during 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

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.