NorthRock Partners LLC Sells 668 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

NorthRock Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 10.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,776 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 33.4% during the first quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 16,461 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,746,000 after buying an additional 4,122 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at $937,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in 3M in the first quarter worth $8,358,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Disciplined Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 8.0% during the first quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. now owns 16,268 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded up $1.18 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $127.03. The stock had a trading volume of 355,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,886,874. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $115.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The company has a market capitalization of $69.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. 3M’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho boosted their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.27.

3M Company 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.