Arizona State Retirement System Sells 852 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 852 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in 3M were worth $16,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fragasso Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 3.8% during the third quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $239,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,182,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 836 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 13,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bollard Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 5,191 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $520,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.10.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $89.86. 742,485 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,185,578. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.54. The company has a market capitalization of $49.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.02. 3M has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $95.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 9.37 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.