3M Company $MMM Stock: Heritage Investors Management Corp Trims Stake

Key Points

• Heritage Investors Management Corp. reduced its 3M stake by 29.8% in the third quarter, selling 6,303 shares and retaining 14,842 shares valued at approximately $2.44 million.
• Several major institutional investors increased their 3M holdings, and institutions collectively own 65.25% of the company’s stock.
• 3M shares were trading at $178.46, up 2.4%, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.50, exceeding estimates, and maintained a quarterly dividend of $0.78 per share.

Heritage Investors Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,842 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 6,303 shares during the quarter. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in 3M were worth $2,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. State Street Corp raised its position in 3M by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,828,966 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $4,505,788,000 after purchasing an additional 105,222 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 67.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,536,148 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $734,448,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819,178 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,935,534 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $637,202,000 after purchasing an additional 270,458 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,401,543 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $226,924,000 after purchasing an additional 48,167 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 376,784 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $61,849,000 after purchasing an additional 4,628 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of MMM opened at $178.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.06. 3M Company has a 1-year low of $139.34 and a 1-year high of $184.90. The company has a 50-day moving average of $168.44 and a 200 day moving average of $161.40.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.12. 3M had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 123.11%. The business had revenue of $6.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.19 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that 3M Company will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. 3M's payout ratio is currently 46.50%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Karin Chavez sold 3,635 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $663,423.85. Following the sale, the insider owned 14,035 shares in the company, valued at $2,561,527.85. This represents a 20.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on MMM. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. HSBC upgraded shares of 3M to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of 3M from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $185.36.

3M Profile

3M is a diversified technology and manufacturing company headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1902 as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, it developed from a mining venture into a global enterprise known for applying materials science and engineering to a broad range of industrial, commercial and consumer applications.

The company develops and manufactures products including adhesives, abrasives, filtration systems, personal protective equipment, medical and dental supplies, electrical and electronic materials, automotive components, reflective materials and workplace safety solutions.

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