Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Increases Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,955 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,383,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in 3M by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,717,503,000 after buying an additional 302,900 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.2% in 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 valued at $521,596,000 after purchasing an additional 43,942 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in 3M by 14.5% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $173,336,000 after purchasing an additional 161,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in 3M by 11,601.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $172,416,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250,491 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 3M news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total value of $269,885.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,918.68. This trade represents a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock worth $17,163,446 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $149.08 on Friday. 3M has a 52 week low of $75.40 and a 52 week high of $155.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86. The company has a market cap of $80.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The firm 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%. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.