Quantbot Technologies LP Sells 13,677 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Quantbot Technologies LP lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 34.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,367 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 13,677 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at about $485,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 50.8% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 34,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,710,000 after acquiring an additional 11,779 shares in the last quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. grew its position in 3M by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,126 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $756,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in 3M by 160.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 166,132 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $17,622,000 after purchasing an additional 102,284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 202.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 46,615 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,944,000 after purchasing an additional 31,221 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on 3M in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $132.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week 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 business has a fifty day moving average price of $132.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.84.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 35.35%.

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.