Allen Capital Group LLC Reduces Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Allen Capital Group LLC cut its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 88.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,436 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 26,696 shares during the quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after purchasing an additional 533,520 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after purchasing an additional 97,340 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after purchasing an additional 396,773 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,940,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $198,298,000 after purchasing an additional 11,315 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $173,336,000 after purchasing an additional 161,036 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $128.43 on Friday. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $69.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $118.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

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.