Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 20,600 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 50.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,950 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 20,600 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $2,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $851,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 642,354 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $82,921,000 after purchasing an additional 145,146 shares in the last quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 142,596 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $18,408,000 after acquiring an additional 22,203 shares during the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. increased its stake in 3M by 34.0% in the 4th quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 12,516 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,101,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of 3M 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.83.

3M Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of MMM traded up $2.31 on Monday, reaching $144.63. 339,122 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,834,570. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 12 month low of $98.26 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.03.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. Research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. 3M's payout ratio is 36.87%.

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.