Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 248,798 Shares of 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC has reduced its stake in 3M Company by 17.1%, selling 248,798 shares and now holding approximately 0.22% of the company valued at $176.25 million.
• Several institutional investors have modified their holdings in 3M, with Nuveen LLC acquiring a new stake worth $235 million and Northern Trust Corp boosting its stake by 12.6%.
• 3M Company reported earnings of $2.16 per share, exceeding expectations, and has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, representing a 1.9% yield.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lowered its stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 17.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,202,749 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 248,798 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.22% of 3M worth $176,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at about $235,020,000. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $175,110,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in 3M by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $871,738,000 after buying an additional 755,155 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in 3M by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,133,190 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $275,375,000 after buying an additional 544,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J. Goldman & Co LP acquired a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $63,471,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price target on 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Barclays set a $170.00 price target on 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.10.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $154.2170 on Wednesday. 3M Company has a 1 year low of $121.98 and a 1 year high of $164.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company has a market capitalization of $82.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $151.33 and a 200-day moving average of $147.17.

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

3M Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.61%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,600,803 over the last ninety days. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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