Aquatic Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 58.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,287 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 61,313 shares during the quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $5,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after buying an additional 280,048 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position 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 worth $734,456,000 after purchasing an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in 3M by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $576,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,736 shares of company stock worth $9,081,260. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MMM opened at $137.30 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $73.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $143.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.23. 3M has a 12 month low of $91.56 and a 12 month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price target on 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $147.00.

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.