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

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH cut its stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 1.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 354,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 5,621 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in 3M were worth $54,963,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

3M Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE MMM opened at $161.70 on Tuesday. 3M Company has a 52 week low of $121.98 and a 52 week high of $174.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $157.78. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.90 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter. 3M had a return on equity of 98.47% and a net margin of 13.70%.The business had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research raised their target price on shares of 3M from $187.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $169.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 13,826 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.78, for a total transaction of $2,347,378.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,162 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,046,184.36. This trade represents a 69.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark W. Murphy sold 19,061 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.55, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,098,230.70. The trade was a 74.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,516 shares of company stock worth $7,836,465. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Profile

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).