Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Buys 801 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,802 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 801 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,590,533,000 after buying an additional 317,483 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in 3M by 2.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,082,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $382,246,000 after purchasing an additional 94,864 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in 3M by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 4,062,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $380,337,000 after purchasing an additional 371,935 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in 3M by 1,273.9% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,944,135 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $275,630,000 after buying an additional 506,654 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MMM. Bank of America decreased their price objective on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays cut their price target on 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.70.

3M Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MMM traded down $0.56 during trading on Monday, hitting $96.59. 4,328,471 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,885,180. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $99.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.64. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.45 billion, a PE ratio of -7.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The business had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.23 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.25%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

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.