Optimum Investment Advisors Sells 500 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Optimum Investment Advisors lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in 3M were worth $27,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,246,367,000 after buying an additional 377,703 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 11.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 533,520 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $506,135,000 after purchasing an additional 97,340 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $258,686,000 after purchasing an additional 396,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in 3M by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,168,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $228,875,000 after purchasing an additional 164,236 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MMM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup raised their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on 3M in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 3M from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Argus raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.57.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $135.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $112.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.78 billion, a PE ratio of -10.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $140.72.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,659.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.