Mengis Capital Management Inc. Sells 2,275 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Mengis Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,115 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,275 shares during the quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its holdings in 3M by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 110,988 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,391,000 after acquiring an additional 14,775 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,855,000. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 49.7% in the 3rd quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,568,000 after buying an additional 5,561 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,021,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, MWA Asset Management purchased a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,723,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.00.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.3 %

MMM stock traded up $0.26 on Monday, reaching $92.53. 1,262,383 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,808,117. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $95.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $51.20 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.36.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.82%.

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.