3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Purchased by Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 270.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,262 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,302 shares during the quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pitcairn Co. lifted its position in 3M by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 4,598 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,490 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 747 shares during the period. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 25,020 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in 3M by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 13,373 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,726,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in 3M by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 54,134 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $6,988,000 after buying an additional 8,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other 3M news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This trade represents a 34.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at $750,736.32. This trade represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup raised their target price on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

3M Stock Down 5.4 %

Shares of 3M stock opened at $139.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.51, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a twelve month low of $89.54 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.57.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The firm had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.77 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is 38.68%.

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.