Sciencast Management LP Purchases 8,482 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Sciencast Management LP boosted its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 165.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,616 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,482 shares during the quarter. Sciencast Management LP’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its stake in 3M by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Citigroup boosted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE MMM opened at $150.35 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.47. 3M has a one year low of $85.62 and a one year high of $156.35. 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 company has a market cap of $81.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.