AIA Group Ltd Sells 3,116 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

AIA Group Ltd cut its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 53.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,684 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,116 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 valued at $5,246,367,000 after acquiring an additional 377,703 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $517,617,000 after purchasing an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2.0% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $506,135,000 after buying an additional 97,340 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 396,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,006,221 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $212,800,000 after buying an additional 36,310 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

MMM opened at $134.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $73.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid 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 Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.27.

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.