Pitcairn Co. Decreases Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Pitcairn Co. lowered its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,385 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 20.3% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in 3M by 1,015.6% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 888,564 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $94,247,000 after acquiring an additional 808,914 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 42,168 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,473,000 after acquiring an additional 4,370 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 18,022 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,760 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,993 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,085,000 after purchasing an additional 3,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $130.30 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $70.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $141.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $119.51.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MMM. StockNews.com lowered 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.87.

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.