Quadrature Capital Ltd Reduces Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Quadrature Capital Ltd trimmed its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 79.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,169 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 114,591 shares during the quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd's holdings in 3M were worth $4,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 40.1% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,490,000 after buying an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.6% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $34,564,000 after buying an additional 13,473 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 6.7% in the second quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $408,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in 3M by 19.2% in the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,185 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They issued an "underweight" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of 3M from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $144.87.

3M Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of 3M stock traded down $0.25 on Friday, hitting $133.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,912,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,720,475. 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 has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The stock has a market cap of $72.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.95. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $131.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M's dividend 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.