Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Sapient Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,708 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 118.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 19,552 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Bank of America increased their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, February 1st. Melius Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Up 0.2 %

3M stock opened at $150.06 on Wednesday. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.25.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 37.09%.

3M Company Profile

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.