O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $13.07 Million Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 52.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 101,261 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 111,496 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $13,072,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $58,295,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $179,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 272,207 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,457 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 321.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $141,708,000 after buying an additional 837,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,089,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 1.5 %

MMM opened at $147.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $149.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.39. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $88.23 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The company has a market cap of $79.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was 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 approximately $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.