Malaga Cove Capital LLC Has $465,000 Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Malaga Cove Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 25.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,251 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,421 shares during the quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Montis Financial LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,000. Aveo Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 157.2% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $197,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,459 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its holdings in 3M by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 91,669 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,021,000 after buying an additional 1,829 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in 3M by 2,994.8% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,795 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.15. The company had a trading volume of 4,818,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,770,578. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.59. The company has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $99.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.64.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. Analysts expect that 3M will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.70.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.