Keystone Financial Group Inc. Invests $106,000 in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Keystone Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 819 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $106,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Allan Corp raised its stake in 3M by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 5,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Ameliora Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,481,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in 3M by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,520 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,000 after acquiring an additional 479 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated boosted its holdings in 3M by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 3,028 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MMM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares in the company, valued at $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last quarter. 0.38% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $152.28 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $136.38 and its 200-day moving average is $132.07. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $155.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

About 3M

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.