3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by KCM Investment Advisors LLC

KCM Investment Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,052 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 587 shares during the period. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,288,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 6.7% during the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 19.2% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Vision MN LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the second quarter valued at about $512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM traded down $1.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $130.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 392,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,837,127. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.60.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.35%.

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.