USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 70,356 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

USS Investment Management Ltd decreased its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 32.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,276 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 70,356 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in 3M were worth $18,627,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,493,655,000 after purchasing an additional 280,048 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $871,738,000 after acquiring an additional 755,155 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $794,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in 3M by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $636,767,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Saturday, May 10th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.08.

3M Price Performance

Shares of 3M stock traded down $2.00 during trading on Monday, reaching $147.78. 2,369,804 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,981,946. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 1-year low of $96.76 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The company has a market cap of $79.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $141.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $140.23.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. 3M's payout ratio is 36.87%.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.