Arizona State Retirement System Sells 8,026 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 149,986 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 8,026 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in 3M were worth $22,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the first quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 9,744 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.6% in the first quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 3,272 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $481,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,775 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:MMM opened at $155.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $83.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $148.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.59. 3M Company has a 1 year low of $100.87 and a 1 year high of $159.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.25.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 96.19% and a net margin of 17.79%. As a group, analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This trade represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MMM. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 3M from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, June 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $156.33.

3M Company 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.

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