First National Trust Co Cuts Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

First National Trust Co cut its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,886 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 742 shares during the quarter. First National Trust Co’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,898,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 40.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $34,564,000 after acquiring an additional 13,473 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $408,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,185 shares during the period. Finally, True Vision MN LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $512,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MMM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.27.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $130.32 on Wednesday. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $141.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $132.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.13. The company has a market cap of $70.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. 3M’s payout ratio is 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.