Diversified Trust Co Reduces Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Diversified Trust Co lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 17.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,296 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 5,036 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in 3M were worth $3,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its stake in 3M by 19.2% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,931,000 after buying an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,846 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $291,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 17.6% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 200,902 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $20,524,000 after buying an additional 30,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 18,203 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 7,217 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Melius Research raised 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Mizuho upped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $144.33.

3M Stock Up 1.2 %

MMM stock traded up $1.57 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $134.34. The stock had a trading volume of 4,675,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,299,902. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The company's 50 day moving average is $130.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The company has a market capitalization of $73.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The firm had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The company's revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 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.