Swiss National Bank Sells 16,100 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in 3M Company by 1.0%, now holding about 1.54 million shares worth approximately $225.55 million.
• In the last 90 days, insiders have sold a total of 25,316 shares of 3M stock, indicating a significant decrease in their ownership.
• 3M reported a quarterly EPS of $2.16, surpassing analysts' estimates, with revenue reaching $6.16 billion, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 1.4%.

Swiss National Bank lowered its holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,535,839 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 16,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of 3M worth $225,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 8,898 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,149,000 after buying an additional 1,872 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 16,828 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $2,172,000 after buying an additional 2,646 shares during the period. CenterBook Partners LP lifted its position in shares of 3M by 212.7% during the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 13,179 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,701,000 after buying an additional 8,965 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 25,837 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $3,335,000 after buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Finally, Phoenix Financial Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd. now owns 1,740 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction of $523,740.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at $385,763.43. This represents a 57.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,316 shares of company stock worth $3,780,296. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.10.

3M Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:MMM traded up $2.55 on Tuesday, hitting $157.86. 2,748,127 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,863,099. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.05. 3M Company has a 52 week low of $121.98 and a 52 week high of $164.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.72. The company's 50-day moving average price is $150.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.98.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.09 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 96.48% and a net margin of 16.01%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.93 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

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.