Howland Capital Management LLC Sells 975 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Howland Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,611 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 975 shares during the quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $807,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 419.1% during the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 1.5 %

MMM traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $103.21. 4,581,096 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,371,517. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $106.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $57.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.95.

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

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.70 dividend. 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 payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.17.

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.