Northstar Advisory Group LLC Has $389,000 Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Northstar Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 42.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,557 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing 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.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its stake in 3M by 15.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 14,775 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter worth $3,855,000. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 49.7% during the third quarter. Shoker Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 16,747 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 18,487 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,021,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter valued at $11,908,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM opened at $105.40 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $58.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.74. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.35 and a 1 year high of $113.14.

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

3M Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of 3M from $117.00 to $104.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upgraded shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $111.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Company 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.