Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 31,300 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. &PARTNERS raised its stake in 3M by 91.4% in the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 13,784 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 6,582 shares during the period. Cultivar Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the second quarter valued at approximately $102,000. Tevis Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tevis Investment Management now owns 12,444 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 67,100 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $6,857,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC grew its stake in 3M by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC now owns 6,970 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $712,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $130.54 on Friday. 3M has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $130.65. The company has a fifty day moving average of $112.44 and a 200-day moving average of $102.27. The company has a market capitalization of $72.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.36.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.85 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MMM shares. HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $91.13 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Vertical Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $123.57.

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.