Advisors Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in 3M Company by 33.5%, selling 89,108 shares and maintaining an ownership of 177,062 shares valued at approximately $26 million.
• 3M reported quarterly earnings of $2.16 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue reaching $6.16 billion, a 1.4% increase from the previous year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.9%, set to be paid to shareholders on September 12th.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 33.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 177,062 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 89,108 shares during the quarter. 3M makes up about 0.5% of Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $26,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in 3M by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,898 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,872 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in 3M by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,751 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in 3M by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in 3M by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,270,238 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $551,245,000 after purchasing an additional 172,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its position in 3M by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 3,158 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 691 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $161.78.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total value of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MMM traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $155.29. The company had a trading volume of 2,052,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,824,897. The business's 50-day moving average is $153.80 and its 200-day moving average is $147.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. The stock has a market cap of $82.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.04. 3M Company has a 52 week low of $121.98 and a 52 week high of $164.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.09 billion. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.61%.

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.