AIA Group Ltd Sells 651 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

AIA Group Ltd decreased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,033 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 651 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $262,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. State Street Corp lifted its position in 3M by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $636,767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $461,761,000 after purchasing an additional 17,228 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in 3M by 55.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $337,815,000 after buying an additional 898,244 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $147.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $79.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1-year low of $89.54 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.73 and a 200-day moving average of $138.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is 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.