Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 20,051 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 260,400 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 20,051 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in 3M were worth $27,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 419.1% in the first quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. purchased a new position in 3M in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. UBS Group increased their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $121.92.

3M Price Performance

MMM traded down $2.34 during trading on Monday, reaching $124.82. The stock had a trading volume of 8,870,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,438,565. The stock has a market cap of $69.07 billion, a PE ratio of -9.81, a PEG ratio of 2.36 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 has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $128.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $102.05 and a 200-day moving average of $98.69.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.01%.

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.