Atria Investments Inc Sells 2,644 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Atria Investments Inc lessened its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 24,761 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 2,644 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in 3M were worth $3,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after purchasing an additional 302,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 88.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 3M by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,689,486 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $734,456,000 after acquiring an additional 479,621 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 1.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after acquiring an additional 43,942 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares in the company, valued at $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $146.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $79.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $78.14 and a fifty-two week high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $144.51 and a 200-day moving average of $136.23.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.13.

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.