3M (NYSE:MMM) Stock Holdings Increased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 59.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 747,954 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 280,015 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.14% of 3M worth $96,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in 3M by 5.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 64,013 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $8,751,000 after acquiring an additional 3,404 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in 3M by 1.4% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 74,143 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,054 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its position in 3M by 8.6% during the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 19,768 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,702,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its position in 3M by 11.0% during the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 11,882 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 1,182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in 3M by 24.9% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $989,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Up 1.5 %

MMM opened at $153.20 on Thursday. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $85.62 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.26. The company has a market capitalization of $83.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

3M 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.