Investors Research Corp Sells 1,852 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Investors Research Corp reduced its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,338 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,852 shares during the period. Investors Research Corp's holdings in 3M were worth $1,225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its position in 3M by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 11,844 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,835 shares during the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 8,751 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,285,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. boosted its stake in 3M by 379.5% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Private Trust Co. now owns 14,758 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,167,000 after purchasing an additional 11,680 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,321 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $341,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in 3M by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 5,044 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 926 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $153.46.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $147.44. 873,536 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,868,696. The stock has a market cap of $79.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a one year low of $97.68 and a one year high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.98.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.78 billion. Equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is 36.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.