South Dakota Investment Council Lowers Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

South Dakota Investment Council lowered its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,160 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 6,300 shares during the period. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fragasso Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank raised its position in shares of 3M by 1.0% during 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 during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp increased its holdings in 3M by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp now owns 2,244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.00.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $92.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.39. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $95.67.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.11. The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.87 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were paid a dividend of $1.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.56%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.