JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd Cuts Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd cut its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,615 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 307 shares during the period. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd’s holdings in 3M were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% in 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. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 313.8% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after acquiring an additional 2,010,319 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 157.2% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $197,377,000 after buying an additional 1,103,459 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 8,766.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,068,748 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on 3M in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Bank of America upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM remained flat at $101.62 during midday trading on Wednesday. 1,230,587 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,446,716. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $99.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.14. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $106.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.23 billion, a PE ratio of -8.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.