3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Bought by Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co grew its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,635 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,961 shares during the period. 3M comprises 0.8% of Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in 3M were worth $13,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMM. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in 3M by 220.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,331 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 6,421 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in 3M by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $352,000. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Forvis Mazars Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,480 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Pavion Blue Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Pavion Blue Capital LLC now owns 6,681 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $148.87.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $145.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. 3M has a 52-week low of $75.40 and a 52-week high of $155.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.85.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total transaction of $1,010,438.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.