Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Cuts Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,862,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 75,645 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.34% of 3M worth $197,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Jade Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,373,000. MWA Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $1,723,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at $978,000. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 14,769 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,567,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research raised shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $101.62 on Thursday. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $106.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.99, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $99.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.64.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. On average, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 (DPR) is -22.01%.

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.