3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Two West Capital Advisors LLC

Two West Capital Advisors LLC decreased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,732 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 299 shares during the period. Two West Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in 3M by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $175,110,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in 3M by 25.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in 3M by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $337,815,000 after acquiring an additional 898,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $147.18 on Thursday. 3M has a 1 year low of $98.26 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $141.61. The company has a market cap of $79.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $153.46.

About 3M

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.