Van ECK Associates Corp Lowers Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 30.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 80,096 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 35,555 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $8,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 419.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Vertical Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. StockNews.com lowered 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $124.38.

3M Stock Up 1.3 %

3M stock opened at $134.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $104.07. The company has a market capitalization of $74.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.59, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $134.99.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.2 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’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 directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the company’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 value of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.