Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 1,870 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lowered its stake in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,960 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 1,870 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in 3M were worth $4,987,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Norges Bank bought a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $175,110,000. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of 3M by 321.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $141,708,000 after buying an additional 837,226 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:MMM traded down $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.73. 2,401,071 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,801,196. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.49. 3M Company has a one year low of $100.87 and a one year high of $159.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 96.19% and a net margin of 17.79%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.88%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.