Hilltop Holdings Inc. Sells 6,680 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 35.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,028 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,680 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in 3M by 25.5% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,391 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 1,096 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in 3M by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 40,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,138,000 after acquiring an additional 4,701 shares during the period. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at about $258,000. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its position in 3M by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in 3M by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 26,429 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,701,000 after acquiring an additional 980 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Melius raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $131.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $132.22 and a 200 day moving average of $120.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

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.