3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Sage Mountain Advisors LLC

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,248 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 126 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during 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 last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 43,942 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $461,761,000 after acquiring an additional 17,228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MMM shares. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $150.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $82.94 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.68 and a 200 day moving average of $136.63.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.