USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 50,100 Shares of 3M Company $MMM

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in 3M Company by 34.7% in the first quarter, now holding $13.83 million worth of shares after selling 50,100 shares.
• 3M recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, with a yield of 1.9%, to be paid out on September 12th.
• The company's stock trades at approximately $155.29, with a market cap of $82.71 billion and analysts currently giving it an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 34.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 94,176 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 50,100 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in 3M were worth $13,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of 3M by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 642,354 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $82,921,000 after buying an additional 145,146 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at $2,506,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M by 122.7% in the first quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 4,512 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 2,486 shares in the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at $262,000. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at $786,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total value of $523,740.51. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares in the company, valued at approximately $385,763.43. The trade was a 57.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $925,859.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays set a $170.00 price objective on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 price objective on 3M in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.78.

3M Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MMM traded down $1.21 on Friday, hitting $158.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,677,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,734,526. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $153.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.89. 3M Company has a fifty-two week low of $121.98 and a fifty-two week high of $164.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.04.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. 3M had a net margin of 16.01% and a return on equity of 96.48%. The business's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.61%.

About 3M

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.