Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Decreases Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,240 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,437 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,935,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in 3M by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD grew its holdings in 3M by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 5,032 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MMM. Citigroup lifted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. StockNews.com began coverage on 3M in a report on Thursday, June 6th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on 3M from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.17.

3M Trading Up 23.0 %

MMM stock traded up $23.77 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $127.16. The company had a trading volume of 32,748,920 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,111,316. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. 3M has a 52 week low of $71.12 and a 52 week high of $128.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $102.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $98.76. The stock has a market cap of $70.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.00, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -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.