Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 4,565 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 242,658 shares of the conglomerate's stock after selling 4,565 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in 3M were worth $31,325,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $636,767,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $576,845,000 after buying an additional 1,520,619 shares during the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $175,110,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after buying an additional 1,248,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its stake in shares of 3M by 55.7% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $337,815,000 after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. Bank of America increased their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday. Barclays increased their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $152.08.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $913,045.54. The trade was a 56.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM traded up $1.84 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,556,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,978,638. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a one year low of $96.76 and a one year high of $156.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $141.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $140.33.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.78 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. 3M's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.87%.

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.