3M (NYSE:MMM) Position Lessened by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ trimmed its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,637 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,748 shares during the period. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in 3M were worth $14,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $816,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. The trade was a 21.52 % 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, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Up 3.1 %

MMM stock opened at $150.58 on Friday. 3M has a twelve month low of $85.62 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a market cap of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $146.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup raised 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

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.