Wealth Quarterback LLC Sells 2,110 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Wealth Quarterback LLC lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,918 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,110 shares during the quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MMM. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 51.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 651 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $89,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,915,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at approximately $186,000. Physicians Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the third quarter. Physicians Financial Services Inc. now owns 14,803 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth $6,934,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.27.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $134.34 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $132.82 and its 200 day moving average is $116.50. The firm has a market cap of $73.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

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.