Atom Investors LP Sells 2,542 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Atom Investors LP cut its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,141 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,542 shares during the period. Atom Investors LP’s holdings in 3M were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 17,211 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 689.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on 3M in a report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Melius raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock opened at $130.45 on Thursday. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $132.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $120.88. The stock has a market cap of $71.04 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.35%.

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.