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

Sapient Capital LLC decreased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Arlington Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 34,370 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,437,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,117 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $152,000. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 74,518 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $9,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $150.06 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.25. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $155.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.