Bridgewater Associates LP Has $205,000 Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Bridgewater Associates LP decreased its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,585 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 980 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in 3M were worth $205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tribune Investment Group LP acquired a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $6,454,000. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co. now owns 33,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,260,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 22.9% during the 4th quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 16,512 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 3,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC increased its position in 3M by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 222,179 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,681,000 after acquiring an additional 2,017 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.47.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $130.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 52 week low of $90.65 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $144.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.26. The company has a market capitalization of $70.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 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.