3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,800 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 625 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in 3M were worth $1,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its position in shares of 3M by 16.2% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 146,333 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $20,004,000 after purchasing an additional 20,421 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 26.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares in the last quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. increased its position in 3M by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in 3M by 88.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,961,866 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,225,087,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212,409 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in 3M in the 4th quarter valued at about $816,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.95, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,318 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.43, for a total value of $944,098.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 113,639 shares of company stock valued at $17,163,446 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

3M Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MMM opened at $146.36 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.17. The firm has a market capitalization 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. 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 has a 12 month low of $77.91 and a 12 month high of $156.35.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The conglomerate reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 $5.77 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 100.77% and a net margin of 15.71%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 25.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.00%. 3M’s payout ratio is 38.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on 3M from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on 3M from $161.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.13.

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.