Rockland Trust Co. Reduces Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Rockland Trust Co. lowered its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,141 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 764 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 154,824 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $16,925,000 after purchasing an additional 19,104 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 8,780 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,913 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $974,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 4,787 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 436.0% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 28,740 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,142,000 after acquiring an additional 23,378 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

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

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM traded down $0.06 on Thursday, reaching $129.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,094,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,276,411. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.48 billion, a PE ratio of -10.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $111.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.82. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $129.99.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.57.

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.