3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by First National Trust Co

First National Trust Co reduced its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,382 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,265 shares during the period. First National Trust Co’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,590,533,000 after buying an additional 317,483 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.4% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,082,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $382,246,000 after acquiring an additional 94,864 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 10.1% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 4,062,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $380,337,000 after acquiring an additional 371,935 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after acquiring an additional 3,508,334 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in 3M by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,944,135 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $275,630,000 after purchasing an additional 506,654 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MMM. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group boosted their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price target on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.70.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $97.15. 4,818,713 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,770,578. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The company has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $99.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.59.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.22%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -47.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.