Diversified Trust Co Grows Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 161.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 48,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,810 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in 3M were worth $5,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 11.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 61,541 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,762,000 after buying an additional 6,425 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 89.9% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 32,580 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,050,000 after buying an additional 15,423 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 87.5% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 40,872 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,826,000 after buying an additional 19,076 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the third quarter worth about $945,000. Finally, Hodges Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,769,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on 3M from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on 3M in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, June 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.58.

3M Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of MMM traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $100.44. The company had a trading volume of 903,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,491,273. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $99.22. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $106.04. The company has a market capitalization of $55.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

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.