3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by WFA Asset Management Corp

WFA Asset Management Corp lowered its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 23,407 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. 3M comprises approximately 1.3% of WFA Asset Management Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in 3M were worth $2,483,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. MV Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in 3M by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,581 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in 3M by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL boosted its stake in 3M by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 9,187 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $974,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Steele Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in 3M by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Steele Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,411 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.42. 652,164 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,442,160. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $106.04. The firm has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.00, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $99.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $99.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a negative net margin of 21.57% and a positive return on equity of 95.80%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.17 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MMM. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Vertical Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of 3M from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $125.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

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.