Highland Capital Management LLC Sells 2,283 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 38.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,283 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $384,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its stake in 3M by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $352,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD boosted its stake in 3M by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 5,032 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $550,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Vertical Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, June 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.17.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock traded up $0.81 on Friday, reaching $104.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,381,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,275,191. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.95. The company has a market capitalization of $57.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $106.04.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

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.