Prudential PLC Sells 2,695 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Prudential PLC lessened its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,721 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,695 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC's holdings in 3M were worth $2,417,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Unison Advisors LLC raised its position in 3M by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 22,974 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,966,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 270.5% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 7,262 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $937,000 after buying an additional 5,302 shares during the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. grew its holdings in 3M by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 4,598 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in 3M by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 25,020 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company'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 owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $7.37 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $130.96. 1,640,892 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,118,474. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.43. 3M has a 52 week low of $90.17 and a 52 week high of $156.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $70.63 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The business's revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. This is a boost from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

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.