California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,745,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 14,925 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.32% of 3M worth $190,778,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in 3M by 89.9% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in 3M in the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 91.9% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel purchased a new position in 3M in the third quarter worth approximately $44,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM traded up $1.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $93.91. The stock had a trading volume of 770,233 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,765,179. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.07. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $95.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $95.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.40.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The business had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.43%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -47.82%.

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.