New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Decreases Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lessened its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,198 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,382,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 118.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total value of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. The trade was a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $148.65 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.79. The firm has a market cap of $80.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a twelve month low of $75.40 and a twelve month high of $155.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

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.