Arizona State Retirement System Sells 350 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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 filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in 3M by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays increased their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $147.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $80.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 12 month low of $76.86 and a 12 month high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

3M Company 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.