Empowered Funds LLC Reduces Stake in 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stake in 3M Company by 11.5%, holding 49,001 shares valued at approximately $7.20 million following the sale of 6,388 shares during the first quarter.
• 3M reported earnings of $2.16 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.01, with revenues reaching $6.16 billion and a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.4%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73, with a dividend yield of 1.9%, and has a payout ratio of approximately 40.61%.

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its holdings in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,001 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 6,388 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $7,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Curat Global LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday. Barclays set a $170.00 target price on 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price target on 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.78.

3M Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of 3M stock traded down $2.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $154.42. The company had a trading volume of 645,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,720,707. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $82.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $154.15 and a 200 day moving average of $147.96. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $6.16 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the firm's 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 directly owned 2,561 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,522. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

About 3M

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.