3,275 3M Company $MMM Shares Acquired by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,383 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in 3M were worth $5,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Security National Bank of SO Dak purchased a new position in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC increased its position in 3M by 2,387.5% during the 3rd quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 199 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Trellis Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Latitude Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on 3M from $191.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Deutsche Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. UBS Group set a $230.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Argus started coverage on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $190.07.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $186.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01. 3M Company has a 12 month low of $139.34 and a 12 month high of $196.90. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $162.37. The stock has a market cap of $96.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The conglomerate reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.12. 3M had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 123.11%. The firm had revenue of $6.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that 3M Company will post 9.14 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.50%.

3M announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, November 4th that authorizes the company to buy back $6 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the conglomerate to repurchase up to 6.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

3M Profile

3M is a diversified science and manufacturing company that develops products for businesses and consumers. Its offerings include workplace safety equipment, adhesives and abrasives, filtration materials, automotive and electronics components, and home and office products such as Post-it Notes and Scotch brand tapes. Founded in 1902 as the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, 3M began as a mining venture before expanding into materials science and industrial manufacturing. The company adopted the name 3M in 2002 and is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota.