3M (NYSE:MMM) Holdings Decreased by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,862,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 75,645 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $197,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,590,533,000 after buying an additional 317,483 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,080,578 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,320,649,000 after purchasing an additional 43,732 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in 3M by 313.8% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $289,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on 3M in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $111.58.

3M Price Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $101.62 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.23 billion, a PE ratio of -7.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $106.04. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $99.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.14.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

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.