Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 92.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 383,273 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 4,569,605 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.07% of 3M worth $52,393,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.3% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 737,531 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,820,000 after purchasing an additional 9,158 shares during the period. Tradewinds LLC. increased its holdings in 3M by 11.1% in the third quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 2,622 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $358,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 3,029 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group boosted its position in 3M by 3.8% during the third quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 53,560 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $7,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 93.9% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 67,385 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $9,212,000 after buying an additional 32,627 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $127.32 on Friday. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $141.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $132.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.73. The stock has a market cap of $69.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley started coverage on 3M in a research note on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

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.