Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Lowers Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,437 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth approximately $502,585,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in 3M by 313.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,319 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors acquired a new position in 3M during the first quarter worth $165,986,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 157.2% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $197,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 8,766.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $118,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068,748 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on 3M from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.17.

3M Stock Up 23.0 %

3M stock traded up $23.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $127.16. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 32,748,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,111,316. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $128.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The company has a market cap of $70.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.95. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.76.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.27. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently -22.01%.

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.