Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 8,142 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its holdings in 3M Company by 15.8%, selling 8,142 shares and leaving it with 43,470 shares worth approximately $6.38 million.
• 3M reported earnings of $2.16 per share for the last quarter, outperforming analysts' expectations and showing a 1.4% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $2.92, resulting in a 1.9% dividend yield.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC decreased its position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,470 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 8,142 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $6,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Curat Global LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Intelligent Financial Strategies bought a new stake in 3M in the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp VA ADV increased its stake in 3M by 173.6% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 301 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

3M Stock Performance

MMM traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $157.86. The company had a trading volume of 2,748,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,184,427. 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 stock has a market cap of $84.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.05. 3M Company has a 12-month low of $121.98 and a 12-month high of $164.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $150.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.06.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.09 billion. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. This represents a 57.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,316 shares of company stock valued at $3,780,296 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

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.