Boothbay Fund Management LLC Reduces Stake in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Boothbay Fund Management LLC reduced its stake in 3M Company by 20.2% in the first quarter, selling 26,144 shares and now holding 103,129 shares valued at approximately $15.1 million.
• 3M recently reported earnings of $2.16 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues rising by 1.4% year-over-year to $6.16 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73, which translates to an annual yield of 1.9% and has a payout ratio of 40.61%.

Boothbay Fund Management LLC cut its holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 103,129 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 26,144 shares during the quarter. 3M accounts for 0.4% of Boothbay Fund Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Boothbay Fund Management LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $15,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM traded down $0.23 during trading on Friday, reaching $155.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,052,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,824,897. The firm 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.80 and a 200-day moving average of $147.67. 3M Company has a 12 month low of $121.98 and a 12 month high of $164.15.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total value of $523,740.51. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at $385,763.43. The trade was a 57.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.