Aurora Private Wealth Inc. Invests $1.20 Million in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Aurora Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,198 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $1,204,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY raised its stake in 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 9,744 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,775 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,582,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 7,792 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In related news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total value of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

3M Price Performance

Shares of MMM stock traded up $3.14 during trading on Thursday, hitting $150.89. The company had a trading volume of 2,739,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,801,679. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 1.03. 3M Company has a one year low of $98.26 and a one year high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $143.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.48.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.78 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 96.19% and a net margin of 17.79%. Equities analysts expect that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. 3M's payout ratio is 36.87%.

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.