Greenwich Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Greenwich Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 692 shares during the period. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 651 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $89,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of 3M by 6.6% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 94,253 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $12,884,000 after purchasing an additional 5,814 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 6.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 52,790 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,216,000 after purchasing an additional 3,047 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 44.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 154,449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $21,113,000 after buying an additional 47,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 2.2% during the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 14,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,994,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $150.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $146.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.90. 3M has a 52-week low of $85.62 and a 52-week 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 firm has a market capitalization of $81.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

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.