New England Research & Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

New England Research & Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,170 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $851,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in 3M by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 642,354 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $82,921,000 after buying an additional 145,146 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $18,408,000 after buying an additional 22,203 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. boosted its stake in 3M by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 12,516 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at $2,101,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup boosted their target price on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.83.

3M Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $142.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03. 3M has a 12-month low of $98.26 and a 12-month high of $156.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.77.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

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.