3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Brookstone Capital Management

Brookstone Capital Management decreased its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 15.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 110,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 20,602 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in 3M were worth $11,745,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth about $535,000. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in 3M by 448.0% in the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 43,787 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,099,000 after buying an additional 35,796 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in 3M by 10.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 58,585 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after buying an additional 5,571 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in 3M by 11.7% during 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. Finally, Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank increased its position in shares of 3M by 59.2% in the third quarter. Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank now owns 30,320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,839,000 after acquiring an additional 11,269 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Bank of America raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. HSBC raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Vertical Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

3M Stock Up 1.7 %

MMM opened at $103.17 on Friday. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $106.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $98.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.26.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

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.