3M (NYSE:MMM) Stake Lowered by Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 74,461 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,599 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in 3M were worth $9,612,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV raised its position in 3M by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in 3M by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in 3M by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in 3M by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MMM. Barclays upped their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on 3M from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MMM opened at $137.88 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 1-year low of $91.56 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.90 and a 200-day moving average of $138.29. The company has a market cap of $74.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.26, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total transaction of $7,553,775.40. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. This trade represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.