ProShare Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

ProShare Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 90.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,681 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,820,540 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $18,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MMM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,461,361 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $5,246,367,000 after acquiring an additional 377,703 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 11.8% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,065,242 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $517,617,000 after purchasing an additional 533,520 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in 3M by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,952,878 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $506,135,000 after buying an additional 97,340 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in 3M by 313.8% in 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 buying an additional 2,010,319 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in 3M by 8.2% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,168,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $228,875,000 after buying an additional 164,236 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.43.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $135.64 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $125.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $108.32. The stock has a market cap of $75.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.66, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $136.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -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.