3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 79.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,169 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 114,591 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at $27,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 17,211 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 689.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Barclays lifted their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $133.36 on Friday. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $141.34. The firm has a market cap of $72.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $131.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

About 3M

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.