Rakuten Securities Inc. Cuts Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Rakuten Securities Inc. decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 27.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 409 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in 3M by 16.2% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,004,000 after buying an additional 20,421 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 26.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $114,770,000 after buying an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co. raised its holdings in 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after buying an additional 2,678 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after buying an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $816,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock opened at $150.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $81.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $145.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a 12 month low of $82.94 and a 12 month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MMM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

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.