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

Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,385 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $179,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 2,466.7% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Down 2.5 %

MMM stock opened at $144.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 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 twelve month low of $88.23 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.60 and its 200-day moving average is $138.29.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued 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. 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 period last year, the business earned $2.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value 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 $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

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.