Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 10,511 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 403,031 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 10,511 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $55,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at $165,986,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% in 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. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in 3M by 218.3% during the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,489,351 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $147,344,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021,440 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in 3M by 1,015.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 888,564 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $94,247,000 after purchasing an additional 808,914 shares during the period. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the second quarter worth about $76,732,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MMM. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com lowered 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock opened at $132.32 on Friday. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market cap of $72.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $117.50.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.12%. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

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.