Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Lowers Holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. decreased its position in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 34.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 849 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 455 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in 3M were worth $125,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the first quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 9,744 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,775 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the first quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 7,792 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays upped their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on 3M from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 31,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,654,663.64. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $152.23 on Friday. 3M Company has a one year low of $98.26 and a one year high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm has a market cap of $81.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $146.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $143.70.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 96.19%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. Research analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

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.