Scotia Capital Inc. Trims Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Scotia Capital Inc. lessened its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 26.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,653 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 24,788 shares during the quarter. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $9,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 17,583 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 7.5% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,142 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after buying an additional 774 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.8% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 274,976 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,589,000 after buying an additional 15,112 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth about $259,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in 3M by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 65,547 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,417,000 after acquiring an additional 13,193 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $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 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup raised their target price 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, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $147.13.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $132.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $146.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.40. 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 market cap of $71.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. 3M has a 1 year low of $90.17 and a 1 year high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. 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 (DPR) is 38.68%.

3M 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.