WFA Asset Management Corp Sells 1,250 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

WFA Asset Management Corp lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,407 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the period. 3M comprises about 1.3% of WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after acquiring an additional 317,483 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,320,649,000 after acquiring an additional 43,732 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in 3M by 1,273.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $413,637,000 after buying an additional 3,508,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its position in 3M by 313.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $289,803,000 after buying an additional 2,010,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Bank of America raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays raised their price target on 3M from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $101.42. The stock had a trading volume of 652,164 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,442,160. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $106.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $99.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.00, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

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.