PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,443,896 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 47,363 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $197,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 11.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 97,340 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 396,773 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in 3M by 0.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,940,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $198,298,000 after buying an additional 11,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors purchased a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth $165,986,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. Barclays lifted their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $130.17 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $132.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

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.