MRP Capital Investments LLC Decreases Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

MRP Capital Investments LLC reduced its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,550 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,013 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,751,000 after buying an additional 3,404 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 74,143 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,135,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,882 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after buying an additional 1,182 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,138,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $276,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Citigroup upped their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of MMM opened at $151.16 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $147.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1-year low of $85.62 and a 1-year high of $156.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. Analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.