3M (NYSE:MMM) Stake Lowered by QV Investors Inc.

QV Investors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,390 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 4,195 shares during the quarter. 3M accounts for 1.4% of QV Investors Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. QV Investors Inc.'s holdings in 3M were worth $13,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,898 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,149,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,363 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $856,000 after buying an additional 794 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of 3M by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,573 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in 3M by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 3,571 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 979 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $153.46.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Trading Down 0.8%

MMM stock traded down $1.25 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $146.88. 2,310,576 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,021,100. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $97.87 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.98. The company has a market capitalization of $79.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.87%.

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.