3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Natixis

Natixis reduced its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 91.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,305 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 327,417 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in 3M were worth $3,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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 approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 419.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. acquired a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.17.

3M Stock Up 13.8 %

NYSE:MMM traded up $14.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $117.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,326,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,208,816. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $101.61 and a 200-day moving average of $98.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. 3M has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $119.53.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s payout ratio is -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.