Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 520 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,751 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 520 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in 3M were worth $4,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in 3M during the third quarter worth about $82,208,000. Parsifal Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 179.0% in the third quarter. Parsifal Capital Management LP now owns 820,094 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $112,107,000 after acquiring an additional 526,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of 3M by 39.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,099,794 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $151,002,000 after purchasing an additional 308,912 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares in the company, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,359,457.18. This represents a 20.49 % 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 worth $17,163,446. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $144.87 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $140.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.56.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. 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 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. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

3M Profile

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.