Northstar Advisory Group LLC Boosts Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 27.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,829 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 4,036 shares during the period. 3M makes up about 1.2% of Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Northstar Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,431,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Forza Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,347 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $690,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in 3M by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 68,000 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $8,778,000 after buying an additional 1,654 shares during the period. Clark & Stuart Inc bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth $9,553,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its position in 3M by 602.9% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 738 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MMM shares. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.33.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM traded up $3.33 on Monday, hitting $134.54. 4,171,571 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,634,692. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a 1-year low of $75.40 and a 1-year high of $141.34. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $130.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The company had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.06 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 earnings per share. 3M’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

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.