Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. Invests $179,000 in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,385 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $179,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of 3M by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $734,456,000 after buying an additional 479,621 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $636,767,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,577,045 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $461,761,000 after acquiring an additional 17,228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in 3M by 55.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $337,815,000 after acquiring an additional 898,244 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. The trade was a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE MMM opened at $144.74 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.60 and a 200-day moving average of $138.29. 3M has a 1-year low of $88.23 and a 1-year high of $156.35.

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

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.68%.

3M Company 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.