MCF Advisors LLC Sells 131 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

MCF Advisors LLC reduced its position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,518 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 131 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $664,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Intelligent Financial Strategies acquired a new stake in 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.33.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock traded down $1.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $151.07. The company had a trading volume of 1,161,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,836,410. The firm has a market cap of $81.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $149.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.65. 3M Company has a 12 month low of $101.77 and a 12 month high of $164.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

About 3M

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.