Evermay Wealth Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Evermay Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,159 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in 3M by 11.4% during the 1st quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $352,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD increased its holdings in 3M by 2.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MMM. HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Vertical Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.17.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $103.40. The company had a trading volume of 4,593,157 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,221,275. The firm has a market capitalization of $57.22 billion, a PE ratio of -8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $101.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $98.71. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $106.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

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

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

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.