1,787 Shares in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) Bought by Northstar Group Inc.

Northstar Group Inc. bought a new stake in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,787 shares of the conglomerate's stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. REAP Financial Group LLC increased its position in 3M by 88.7% in the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 200 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Curat Global LLC bought a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. bought a new stake in 3M in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in 3M during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 230.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 307 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at 3M

In related news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $142.43. 2,629,147 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,829,548. 3M Company has a twelve month low of $98.26 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $142.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.99. 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 company has a market cap of $76.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.98, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.03.

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

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. 3M's payout ratio is currently 36.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped 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. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, 3M has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $155.83.

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.