Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Decreases Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado lessened its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,324 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 3,671 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in 3M were worth $8,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ceeto Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 3.0% in the first quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 17,050 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,808,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 269.0% in the 1st quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 16,758 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,778,000 after buying an additional 12,216 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 264,767 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $28,083,000 after buying an additional 3,147 shares in the last quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M in the 1st quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in 3M by 20.3% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 2,225 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $125.26 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $69.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.85, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $128.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $102.45 and its 200 day moving average is $98.81.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Argus raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.57.

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.