3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lessened its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 34.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,235 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,262 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $547,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in 3M by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,493,655,000 after purchasing an additional 280,048 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in 3M by 9.2% in the 4th 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. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $461,761,000 after buying an additional 17,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of 3M by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,540,883 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $328,003,000 after buying an additional 533,753 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $126.62 on Monday. 3M has a 1 year low of $90.17 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $149.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.58.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio 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.