Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Cuts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 94.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,309 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 95,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in 3M were worth $685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. Amundi grew its position in shares of 3M by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 321.4% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,097,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $141,708,000 after purchasing an additional 837,226 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $103,788,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in 3M by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,540,883 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $328,003,000 after buying an additional 533,753 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Trading Down 9.4 %

NYSE MMM opened at $126.62 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 12 month low of $90.17 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $149.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

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.