Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 138,258 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. decreased its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,724,360 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 138,258 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.31% of 3M worth $176,212,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Shilanski & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Shilanski & Associates Inc. now owns 42,968 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,391,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $808,000. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Peddock Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $663,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oak Harbor Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,325 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.7% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Vertical Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.57.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of 3M stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $127.05. 3,812,693 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,347,996. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The firm has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $128.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $109.69 and its 200 day moving average is $101.13.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

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.