3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC cut its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 430,299 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 15,645 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.08% of 3M worth $43,069,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its position in shares of 3M by 102,920.1% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 39,317,632 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,935,302,000 after buying an additional 39,279,467 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 73,903.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,656,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $798,258,000 after buying an additional 6,647,593 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $369,974,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in 3M by 1,889.1% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,356,600 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $201,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,288,400 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its position in 3M by 112.8% in the first quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 1,822,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $191,461,000 after purchasing an additional 966,287 shares during the period. 65.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $95.34 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.09 and a 200-day moving average of $98.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.14, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.98. 3M has a 12-month low of $85.35 and a 12-month high of $130.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The conglomerate reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.34 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $8.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.99 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 47.18% and a negative net margin of 22.59%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 9.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 17th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 16th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.29%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -44.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMM. Morgan Stanley upgraded 3M from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $102.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 31st. Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on 3M from $115.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on 3M from $95.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.30.

3M Company Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.