Grandfield & Dodd LLC Sells 1,258 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 18.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,523 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,258 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Broderick Brian C bought a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter valued at about $392,000. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. now owns 16,268 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Southern Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter valued at about $240,000. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter valued at about $8,358,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $103.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,581,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,371,517. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $106.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.03.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. On average, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MMM. HSBC raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research raised shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Bank of America raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, June 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.17.

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.