Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. Has $48,000 Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. cut its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 53.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 350 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $48,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of 3M by 13.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 154,810 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $16,420,000 after purchasing an additional 18,054 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 262,119 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $27,719,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 10.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 40,181 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $4,262,000 after purchasing an additional 3,717 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of 3M by 5.1% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 620,152 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $65,184,000 after purchasing an additional 30,362 shares during the period. Finally, Fortis Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 4.1% during the first quarter. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,917 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Argus raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Mizuho increased their price target on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock traded up $1.17 on Wednesday, hitting $131.52. 887,420 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,860,809. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $141.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $132.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.40.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

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.