3M Company $MMM Position Cut by UniSuper Management Pty Ltd

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd lessened its stake in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 0.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 38,819 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $5,701,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in 3M during the first quarter worth $2,506,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 122.7% in the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 2,486 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. bought a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter worth approximately $262,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter worth approximately $786,000. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its holdings in 3M by 210.6% during the 1st quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 366,236 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $53,785,000 after acquiring an additional 248,333 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,522. This represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction of $523,740.51. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This trade represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $161.78.

3M Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $155.29 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.71 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.04. 3M Company has a 12 month low of $121.98 and a 12 month high of $164.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.93 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 40.61%.

3M 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.