Sweet Financial Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Sweet Financial Partners LLC decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,642 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 426 shares during the quarter. 3M accounts for about 0.7% of Sweet Financial Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Sweet Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,246,367,000 after buying an additional 377,703 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 3M by 11.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 533,520 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after purchasing an additional 97,340 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after purchasing an additional 396,773 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in 3M by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,168,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $228,875,000 after purchasing an additional 164,236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.57.

3M Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $135.75 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $132.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.30. The stock has a market cap of $75.12 billion, a PE ratio of -10.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. 3M has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $140.72.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.