Atala Financial Inc Makes New $168,000 Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,301 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $168,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MMM. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 51.0% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 651 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 13.7% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $802,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares in the last quarter. Simmons Bank purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at about $263,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of 3M by 2.2% during the third quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 10,967 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 25,811 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,528,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $149.13.

3M Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $150.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The company has a market cap of $81.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.97. 3M has a 1 year low of $85.62 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.82.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.77 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.42 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.22, for a total transaction of $269,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. The trade was a 90.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,238.25. This represents a 24.20 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

3M Profile

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.