Amundi Purchases 898,244 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Amundi boosted its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 55.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,511,095 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 898,244 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in 3M were worth $337,815,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in 3M in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in 3M by 2,466.7% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in 3M by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 320 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in 3M by 81.5% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 363 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Down 0.4 %

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

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.02. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.77 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. 3M’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. 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. 3M’s payout ratio is presently 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of 3M from $142.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 3M news, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares in the company, valued at $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total transaction of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 5,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $750,736.32. The trade was a 55.70 % decrease in their position. 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 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.