American Investment Services Inc. Sells 13,516 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Key Points

• American Investment Services Inc. has reduced its holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 28.6%, selling 13,516 shares, resulting in ownership of 33,795 shares valued at approximately $4.96 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Rockefeller Capital Management, have increased their stakes in 3M during the fourth quarter, highlighting strong institutional interest in the stock.
• 3M recently reported earnings of $2.16 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue of $6.16 billion, indicating a slight year-over-year growth of 1.4%.

American Investment Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 28.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,795 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 13,516 shares during the quarter. American Investment Services Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $4,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,898 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in 3M by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 58,872 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $7,598,000 after acquiring an additional 4,282 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 16,546 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,218 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $387,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its holdings in 3M by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 12,192 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,574,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays set a $170.00 price target on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.10.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $156.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. 3M Company has a 12-month low of $121.98 and a 12-month high of $164.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,522. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,600,803. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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