Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Reduces Holdings in 3M Company $MMM

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 354,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,621 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH owned 0.07% of 3M worth $54,963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in 3M by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 4,198,538 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $616,597,000 after purchasing an additional 414,160 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 23.1% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,127,734 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $459,339,000 after purchasing an additional 586,851 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its stake in 3M by 20.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,030,397 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $423,471,000 after buying an additional 519,302 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in 3M by 16.6% in the first quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,707,198 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $250,719,000 after purchasing an additional 243,126 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,690,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $248,199,000 after buying an additional 84,788 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MMM stock opened at $161.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.40. 3M Company has a 1-year low of $121.98 and a 1-year high of $174.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $166.29 and a 200 day moving average of $157.78.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. 3M had a return on equity of 98.47% and a net margin of 13.70%.The company had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 46.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $199.00 to $178.00 in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. Wolfe Research raised their price target on 3M from $187.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $176.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $160.00 price objective on shares of 3M and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP Mark W. Murphy sold 19,061 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.55, for a total value of $3,174,609.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,594 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,230.70. The trade was a 74.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 13,826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.78, for a total transaction of $2,347,378.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,046,184.36. The trade was a 69.17% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 46,516 shares of company stock valued at $7,836,465 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About 3M

3M Company, originally founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, is a diversified global technology and manufacturing firm headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Over its history the company has expanded from mineral mining into a broad portfolio of industrial, safety, healthcare and consumer products, building a reputation for applied science and product innovation across many end markets.

3M’s businesses span a wide range of product categories including adhesives and tapes, abrasives, filtration and separation technologies, personal protective equipment such as respirators, medical and dental products, industrial and automotive solutions, and a suite of consumer brands (for example, well-known office and home products).