Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Sells 95,000 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 228,997 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $29,563,000 after purchasing an additional 25,552 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in 3M by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 513,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $66,326,000 after buying an additional 39,346 shares during the last quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 107.3% in the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 236,551 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,536,000 after acquiring an additional 122,434 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 564,760 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $72,905,000 after acquiring an additional 12,081 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,510,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This trade represents a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Down 9.4 %

MMM stock opened at $126.62 on Friday. 3M has a one year low of $90.17 and a one year high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $149.05 and its 200 day moving average is $138.55. The firm has a market cap of $68.29 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

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

3M Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

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.