3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 25.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,125,739 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 727,601 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 0.38% of 3M worth $225,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 419.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. acquired a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM traded up $23.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $127.16. 32,748,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,111,316. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a PE ratio of -10.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.76. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $128.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Bank of America upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Vertical Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.17.

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.