Pitcairn Co. Sells 257 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Pitcairn Co. lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,385 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $172,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in 3M by 1,015.6% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 888,564 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $94,247,000 after buying an additional 808,914 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 2nd quarter worth $76,732,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at about $82,208,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $517,617,000 after acquiring an additional 533,520 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. StockNews.com lowered 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

3M Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $130.30 on Tuesday. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

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. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. 3M’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

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