Ascent Group LLC Lowers Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ascent Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 18.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 780 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 419.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wolfe Research raised 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Vertical Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.92.

3M Stock Performance

MMM traded down $1.90 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $125.26. 10,814,754 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,452,062. The stock has a market cap of $69.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $128.65. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -22.01%.

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.