Private Advisor Group LLC Buys 98,028 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 91.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,587 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 98,028 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $26,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in 3M by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

3M Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MMM opened at $148.85 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a one year low of $75.40 and a one year high of $155.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $139.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.20.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MMM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, February 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

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.