B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Reduces Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. reduced its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,876 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,759 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings 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. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 44.7% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 27.7% in the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,018 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 2,823 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 429,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $43,887,000 after buying an additional 66,075 shares during the period. Finally, Accredited Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 30,635 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,131,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MMM. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on 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 raised their price target on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $129.92 on Friday. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The firm has a market cap of $70.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $131.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. 3M’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 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.