3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 32.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,640 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 4,637 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $1,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,493,655,000 after acquiring an additional 280,048 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in 3M by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $871,738,000 after acquiring an additional 755,155 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $636,767,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $153.46.

3M Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MMM opened at $145.58 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $141.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 52 week low of $98.26 and a 52 week high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. As a group, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. 3M's payout ratio is 36.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% 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.

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