Pettee Investors Inc. Sells 2,050 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Pettee Investors Inc. cut its stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 34.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,846 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,050 shares during the period. Pettee Investors Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,580 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $819,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,690 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBT Bank N A NY increased its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 9,744 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Down 3.3%

MMM stock traded down $5.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $153.81. 11,699,665 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,834,121. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $82.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $149.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.26. 3M Company has a 1-year low of $101.77 and a 1-year high of $165.14.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.15. 3M had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 96.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $913,045.54. This trade represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.33.

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.