Private Advisor Group LLC Has $26.54 Million Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 91.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 205,587 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 98,028 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in 3M were worth $26,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMM. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $521,596,000 after acquiring an additional 43,942 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in 3M by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $173,336,000 after acquiring an additional 161,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $172,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250,491 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on MMM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Performance

MMM traded down $4.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $144.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,278,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,924,529. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The company's 50-day moving average is $140.62 and its 200-day moving average is $134.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $78.65 billion, a PE ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. 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 currently 38.68%.

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.