3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Advisors Asset Management Inc.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 319,370 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 40,443 shares during the period. 3M accounts for approximately 0.8% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $43,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMM. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in 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 worth $517,617,000 after acquiring an additional 533,520 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $506,135,000 after buying an additional 97,340 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 3M by 18.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $258,686,000 after buying an additional 396,773 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in 3M by 0.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,940,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $198,298,000 after buying an additional 11,315 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the first quarter valued at about $165,986,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $128.18 on Wednesday. 3M has a 12 month low of $75.40 and a 12 month high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a PE ratio of 16.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $132.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.61.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MMM. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 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 report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.87.

3M 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.