Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Raises Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 114,223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $12,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter worth about $502,585,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1,273.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,783,726 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $413,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508,334 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 313.8% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,650,961 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $289,803,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010,319 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 157.2% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,805,496 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $197,377,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103,459 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 8,766.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,080,940 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $118,168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,068,748 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM traded up $0.81 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.04. 179,659 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,332,489. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.64. 3M has a 12-month low of $71.12 and a 12-month high of $106.04. The company has a market cap of $57.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.03.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Vertical Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price target on 3M from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.17.

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.