Farmers Trust Co. Sells 320 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Farmers Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,294 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 320 shares during the quarter. 3M accounts for 1.2% of Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Farmers Trust Co.’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 2,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in 3M by 19.2% during the second quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,185 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC increased its position in 3M by 10.4% during the second quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,846 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $291,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 17.6% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 200,902 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,524,000 after buying an additional 30,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caprock Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 18,203 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,860,000 after acquiring an additional 7,217 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays decreased their target price on 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.33.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $133.92. 2,493,758 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,860,057. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $72.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day moving average of $130.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released 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. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company 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 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. 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.