Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. Has $1.47 Million Holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. increased its holdings in 3M Company by 25.0% during the first quarter to a total of 10,000 shares, valued at approximately $1.47 million.
• Brokerages have issued varying target prices for 3M, with Citigroup raising its target from $141.00 to $160.00, while JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a target of $167.00, indicating investor optimism.
• Recent insider sales included EVP John Patrick Banovetz offloading 7,759 shares for over $1.15 million, representing a significant decrease of 19.83% in his position.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 25.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd.'s holdings in 3M were worth $1,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Intelligent Financial Strategies bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. Citigroup increased their target price on 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 target price on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on 3M in a report on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $158.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the sale, the insider owned 2,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,401 shares of company stock worth $2,600,803 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of MMM opened at $160.26 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.62 and a 200 day moving average of $147.15. 3M Company has a fifty-two week low of $121.98 and a fifty-two week high of $164.15. The firm has a market cap of $85.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.72.

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

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