Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors Increases Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors increased its position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 31.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,461 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 828 shares during the period. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors’ holdings in 3M were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Briaud Financial Planning Inc purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in 3M by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of 3M from $95.31 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.50.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $91.31 on Tuesday. 3M has a 1 year low of $71.12 and a 1 year high of $95.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $95.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $97.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The company has a market cap of $50.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.23, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.40% and a positive return on equity of 62.45%. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that 3M will post 8.79 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $6.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.61%. 3M’s payout ratio is presently -47.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.38% of the stock is currently 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.