Kovack Advisors Inc. Has $947,000 Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kovack Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 70.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 16,425 shares during the period. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $947,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 689.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in 3M by 44.7% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.87.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $131.45 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.40. The company has a market cap of $71.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 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 has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $141.34.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. 3M’s 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.