Centaurus Financial Inc. Has $392,000 Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Centaurus Financial Inc. lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,868 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,217 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,490,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares in the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after buying an additional 13,473 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in 3M by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $408,000 after buying an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. raised its position in 3M by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,931,000 after buying an additional 6,185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, True Vision MN LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $512,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Mizuho lifted their target price on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

3M Stock Up 2.0 %

MMM opened at $132.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $119.75. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $141.34. The stock has a market cap of $72.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.35%.

About 3M

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.