Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 559 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 153,890 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 559 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $19,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV increased its stake in 3M by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV now owns 5,377 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in 3M by 1.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in 3M by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in 3M by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $196,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $150.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a 1-year low of $85.62 and a 1-year high of $156.35. The company has a market capitalization of $81.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.15.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued 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. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M’s payout ratio is currently 38.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of 3M 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 49,598 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.30, for a total value of $7,553,775.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 180,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,550,308.50. This represents a 21.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.