3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc.

Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 255 shares during the quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in 3M by 100.4% in the second quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,598,000 after purchasing an additional 7,833 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in 3M by 60.0% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 105,867 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $10,819,000 after purchasing an additional 39,717 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at $257,000. Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,796,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 25.4% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 96,746 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,886,000 after acquiring an additional 19,576 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction 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. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $137.29 on Wednesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $137.94. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $125.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.63.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm 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 firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MMM. StockNews.com downgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.43.

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.