3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Position Reduced by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System lessened its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 158,012 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in 3M were worth $20,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.3% during the 4th 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 boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the 4th 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. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.5% during the 4th 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. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 1.3 %

3M stock opened at $147.74 on Thursday. 3M has a 12 month low of $76.86 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $143.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.96. The stock has a market cap of $80.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

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.