Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Decreases Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC reduced its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 212,127 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 17,373 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $28,998,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 11,601.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,250,491 shares during the period. Electron Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at about $76,732,000. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the third quarter worth about $82,208,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position 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 worth $517,617,000 after purchasing an additional 533,520 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of MMM stock traded down $0.45 on Monday, reaching $129.47. 2,797,441 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,682,583. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $141.34. The stock has a market cap of $70.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 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. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.52.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. 3M's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on 3M in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.87.

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.