Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 9,842 Shares of 3M Company $MMM

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lessened its position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 260,699 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 9,842 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.05% of 3M worth $42,794,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 22.1% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 9,342 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,689 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 2.2% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 17,594 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 55.8% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 335 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 5.7% in the third quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,912 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the third quarter worth about $198,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $185.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.06. 3M Company has a fifty-two week low of $139.34 and a fifty-two week high of $196.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $168.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $161.79. The company has a market cap of $95.71 billion, a PE ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.38 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.61 billion. 3M had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 123.11%. The business's revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.19 EPS. Analysts expect that 3M Company will post 9.14 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.50%.

3M declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, November 4th that permits the company to repurchase $6 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the conglomerate to reacquire up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MMM. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on 3M from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their target price on 3M from $183.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Mizuho raised their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on 3M from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded 3M from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.07.

3M Profile

3M is a diversified science and manufacturing company that develops products for businesses and consumers. Its offerings include workplace safety equipment, adhesives and abrasives, filtration materials, automotive and electronics components, and home and office products such as Post-it Notes and Scotch brand tapes.

Founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 3M began as a mining venture before expanding into materials science and industrial manufacturing. The company adopted the name 3M in 2002 and is headquartered in St.

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