Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Shares in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 33,400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $3,651,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Fragasso Group Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 3.8% during the third quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.2% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 7,941 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,182,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 836 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in 3M by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 13,133 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its stake in 3M by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MMM shares. Bank of America cut their price target on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.50.

3M Price Performance

Shares of 3M stock opened at $91.31 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $95.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that 3M will post 8.79 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -47.82%.

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.