Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Trims Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. lowered its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 61.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 13,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,033,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in 3M by 118.6% in the third 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 period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 3M by 2,466.7% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in 3M by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at $57,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Trading Up 4.1 %

NYSE MMM opened at $146.86 on Wednesday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $150.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $162.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Melius raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.13.

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.