Northstar Advisory Group LLC Purchases 1,055 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 42.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the quarter. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in 3M by 15.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 110,988 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $10,391,000 after buying an additional 14,775 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the third quarter valued at about $3,855,000. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 49.7% during the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in 3M during the third quarter valued at about $11,908,000. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM opened at $105.40 on Thursday. 3M has a 12-month low of $85.35 and a 12-month high of $113.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.74. The company has a market capitalization of $58.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.28, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The company had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.73%. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -47.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Mizuho restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.