Vest Financial LLC Sells 3,609 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Vest Financial LLC trimmed its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 17.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,814 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,609 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% during 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 position 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 buying an additional 533,520 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 97,340 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 396,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of 3M by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,168,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $228,875,000 after buying an additional 164,236 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. Morgan Stanley began coverage on 3M in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upped their target price on 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays upped their target price on 3M from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.57.

3M Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $135.14 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $74.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.62, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $132.67 and a 200-day moving average of $112.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $140.72.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 currently owned by 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.