3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. cut its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 31.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 180 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $44,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 8,766.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $118,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068,748 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 20.8% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,944,135 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $275,630,000 after purchasing an additional 506,654 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 29.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,908,914 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $178,713,000 after purchasing an additional 438,424 shares during the period. Finally, Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 10.1% during the third quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 4,062,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $380,337,000 after purchasing an additional 371,935 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their target price on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America lowered their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $93.00. The company had a trading volume of 3,694,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,803,995. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07. 3M has a 1-year low of $71.12 and a 1-year high of $95.67. The firm has a market cap of $51.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.43.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 business 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 posted $2.28 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s payout ratio is -47.82%.

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.