SVB Wealth LLC Trims Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

SVB Wealth LLC reduced its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,827 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,766 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 20,054 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in 3M by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 6,274 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $675,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in 3M by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 1,769 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in 3M by 818.5% during the fourth quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 32,213 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after buying an additional 28,706 shares during the period. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Stock Down 0.3 %

MMM traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $124.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,299,222 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,423,441. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.85, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $128.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $102.45 and its 200-day moving average is $98.81.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.19 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. HSBC raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, May 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.57.

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.