Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Sells 7,239 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,179 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 7,239 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in 3M were worth $7,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the first quarter worth $1,990,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lifted its holdings in 3M by 262.5% during the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 17,190 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,823,000 after buying an additional 12,448 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 52.5% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 25,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,725,000 after buying an additional 8,849 shares during the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Leelyn Smith LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 5.1% during the first quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 19,887 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,109,000 after acquiring an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $130.17 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $70.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $118.39. 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 has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 2.15%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.