Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 2,916 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 77,569 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 2,916 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $11,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Norges Bank bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in 3M by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $576,845,000 after buying an additional 1,520,619 shares during the period. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter valued at about $175,110,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $337,815,000 after acquiring an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $153.46.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM traded down $2.50 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $144.68. 782,652 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,848,616. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $141.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.61. 3M has a 52 week low of $98.26 and a 52 week high of $156.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $77.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.87%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 now owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% 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.