Blueshift Asset Management LLC Sells 5,594 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC lowered its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 70.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,362 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,594 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its position in 3M by 1,468.3% in the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 55,250 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $7,132,000 after purchasing an additional 51,727 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 59.8% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 747,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $96,553,000 after buying an additional 280,015 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in 3M by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 232,477 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,010,000 after buying an additional 5,109 shares in the last quarter. Generali Investments Management Co LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its position in 3M by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 96,536 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,462,000 after acquiring an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $150.35 on Friday. 3M has a 12 month low of $85.62 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $81.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.47.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 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.