Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 1,600 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 23,176 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,991,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth $210,000. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in 3M by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 10,073 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,753 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $872,000 after buying an additional 2,482 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in 3M by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 62,128 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,020,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Bank of America upped their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $148.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $80.82 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

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.