Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $6.03 Million Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 46,696 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in 3M were worth $6,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. National Pension Service grew its holdings in 3M by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,521,626 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,427,000 after acquiring an additional 253,623 shares during the period. DMKC Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 4th quarter worth $3,594,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in 3M by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 102,635 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $13,249,000 after buying an additional 1,961 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 220.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,331 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 6,421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $147.39 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $141.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $155.00. The firm has a market cap of $80.02 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,564.70. This represents a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.