3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Nuance Investments LLC

Nuance Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 585,957 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 292,731 shares during the quarter. 3M makes up about 3.1% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $75,641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $851,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased 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 worth $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares during the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $153.53 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $83.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.88.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm 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 business’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.