Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Takes Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,630 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $210,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M in the third quarter worth about $27,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 118.6% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 237,297 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 19,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MMM shares. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective 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. Melius Research raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $150.06 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $133.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect 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 1.95%. 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 37.09%.

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.