Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Cuts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI decreased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 34,762 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 694 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,487,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in 3M by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 26.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $816,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Two 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $153.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.74. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 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.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.