D.A. Davidson & CO. Has $15.72 Million Holdings in 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its position in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) by 18.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 107,033 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 24,179 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in 3M were worth $15,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in 3M by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the first quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $954,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. NBT Bank N A NY lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 0.8% during the first quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 9,744 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,775 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the first quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 7,792 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $152.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72. 3M Company has a twelve month low of $98.26 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.33 and a 200-day moving average of $143.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 17.79% and a return on equity of 96.19%. The business had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that 3M Company will post 7.8 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of 3M from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.83.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total transaction of $1,179,493.30. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $913,045.54. This represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,372 shares in the company, valued at $4,654,663.64. This trade represents a 19.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.