Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 275 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,699 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in 3M were worth $4,261,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in 3M during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 419.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in 3M by 689.7% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Argus raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Wolfe Research raised shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.43.

3M Price Performance

3M stock opened at $133.84 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.06 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.52, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $135.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $124.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.50.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.01%.

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.