Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd cut its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 98.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 191,500 shares during the period. Catalyst Funds Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its stake in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its stake in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $150.58 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $146.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 12 month low of $85.62 and a 12 month 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.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.