Raymond James Trust N.A. Reduces Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Raymond James Trust N.A. trimmed its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 57,390 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,622 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in 3M were worth $5,865,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jade Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth $4,373,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $978,000. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its stake in 3M by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 14,769 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,567,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,381.0% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 65,341 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,930,000 after acquiring an additional 60,929 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 419.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note 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 report on Thursday, June 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $123.57.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, 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 transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 3M news, 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 in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MMM traded up $0.36 on Monday, hitting $130.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 303,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,237,238. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $112.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.39. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $131.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.21 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently -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.