B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,635 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,533 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 3M by 0.8% in 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 grew its stake in shares of 3M by 11.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after acquiring an additional 533,520 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 2.0% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after acquiring an additional 97,340 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 313.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $289,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,319 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 3M by 18.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $258,686,000 after purchasing an additional 396,773 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MMM shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.43.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $136.70 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $140.72. The stock has a market cap of $75.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.75, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $128.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.68.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.22 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

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

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.