3M (NYSE:MMM) Position Lessened by First Manhattan CO. LLC.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lowered its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,199 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,102 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in 3M were worth $4,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,493,655,000 after purchasing an additional 280,048 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $871,738,000 after buying an additional 755,155 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $636,767,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of MMM stock traded down $2.70 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $148.04. The company had a trading volume of 3,777,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,026,380. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a twelve month low of $96.76 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a market capitalization of $79.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $141.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $138.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.97%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $149.29.

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.