Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Trims Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.1% 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 136,139 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,300 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in 3M were worth $17,574,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Down 2.8 %

MMM stock opened at $144.87 on Friday. 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 has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.62.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This trade represents a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

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.