Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys 6,385 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,650 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 6,385 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MMM. Creative Planning raised its stake in 3M by 1.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 153,238 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $20,948,000 after purchasing an additional 1,475 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in 3M by 545.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 183,953 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,146,000 after acquiring an additional 155,435 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in 3M by 118.6% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Echo Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the third quarter valued at approximately $230,000. Finally, Koss Olinger Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 4.2% in the third quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 8,378 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $148.65 on Tuesday. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. 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 company has a market cap of $80.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.88.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company 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 business earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 37.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total value of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. This trade represents a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.