3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Stake Cut by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,810 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 6,449 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $3,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 51.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $576,845,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,619 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $175,110,000. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 321.4% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $141,708,000 after acquiring an additional 837,226 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.33.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.73. 2,340,936 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,829,276. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $147.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.32. 3M Company has a one year low of $100.87 and a one year high of $159.47. The company has a market cap of $83.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 96.19% and a net margin of 17.79%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.78 billion. Equities analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.