United Asset Strategies Inc. Has $794,000 Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

United Asset Strategies Inc. decreased its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,147 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 186 shares during the quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in 3M by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 27,194,612 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,717,503,000 after acquiring an additional 302,900 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of 3M by 88.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,815,625 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $521,596,000 after buying an additional 43,942 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of 3M by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,268,003 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $173,336,000 after buying an additional 161,036 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in 3M by 11,601.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,261,270 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $172,416,000 after buying an additional 1,250,491 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MMM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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 research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $750,736.32. This represents a 55.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 45,276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.01, for a total transaction of $6,791,852.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 175,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,359,457.18. This trade represents a 20.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,903 shares of company stock valued at $8,082,186. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

3M Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE MMM opened at $151.44 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $132.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $75.40 and a fifty-two week high of $152.08. 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 (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $6.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5,770,390 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. 3M’s revenue was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.09%.

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.