Clarity Financial LLC Trims Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Clarity Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 12.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,118 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Clarity Financial LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $426,000 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 MMM. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 40.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after buying an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, True Vision MN LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at $512,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $125.85 on Tuesday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $141.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.53 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.