D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 15,121 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

D.A. Davidson & CO. cut its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 131,212 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 15,121 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in 3M were worth $16,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 5,106 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wynn Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 11,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,509,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 10,559 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Allan Corp lifted its position in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 5,959 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $769,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, EVP Victoria Clarke sold 1,750 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,918.68. This represents a 90.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total transaction of $346,234.55. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $662,329.15. This represents a 34.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MMM. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Melius raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, February 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.87.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM opened at $148.85 on Wednesday. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $155.00. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $139.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.20. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $80.81 billion, a PE ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $6.01 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 25.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. 3M’s 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.