Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 540 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,972,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after purchasing an additional 317,483 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,082,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $382,246,000 after buying an additional 94,864 shares during the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 4,062,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $380,337,000 after buying an additional 371,935 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in 3M by 20.8% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,944,135 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $275,630,000 after acquiring an additional 506,654 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.70.

3M Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded down $0.56 during trading on Monday, hitting $96.59. The stock had a trading volume of 3,789,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,881,635. The company has a market capitalization of $53.45 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.14 and its 200 day moving average is $97.71. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $99.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.25%. 3M’s payout ratio is -47.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.