HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 418,495 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 22,289 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.08% of 3M worth $57,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMM. FMR LLC lifted its position in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $172,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,491 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at $76,732,000. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth about $82,208,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $517,617,000 after acquiring an additional 533,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:MMM traded up $2.91 on Thursday, hitting $133.36. The stock had a trading volume of 4,171,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,732,424. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $141.34. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $131.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.97. The stock has a market cap of $72.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.95. 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 (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Melius raised shares of 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Melius Research raised 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 upped their target price on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.87.

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.