Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 3,084 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,084 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in 3M were worth $13,307,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 49,033,679 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $4,590,533,000 after purchasing an additional 317,483 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of 3M by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,082,950 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $382,246,000 after purchasing an additional 94,864 shares during the period. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 4,062,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $380,337,000 after purchasing an additional 371,935 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of 3M by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,944,135 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $275,630,000 after purchasing an additional 506,654 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 2.0 %

3M stock opened at $98.42 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $95.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.64. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $99.70.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.05 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.14%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -47.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.70.

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.