Raymond James Trust N.A. Sells 8,123 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Raymond James Trust N.A. lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 14.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 49,267 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 8,123 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,735,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $506,135,000 after buying an additional 97,340 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,531,422 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $258,686,000 after acquiring an additional 396,773 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in 3M by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,940,202 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $198,298,000 after acquiring an additional 11,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of 3M by 14.5% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $173,336,000 after acquiring an additional 161,036 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho boosted their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

3M Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $128.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $141.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $132.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.95. The company has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.18%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

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.