BluePath Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

BluePath Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,058 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fragasso Group Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 3.8% during the third quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of 3M by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,288,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Summit Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 3.4% during the first quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $352,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD boosted its position in shares of 3M by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 5,032 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Vertical Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Bank of America upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Friday, June 7th. HSBC upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $91.13 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Mizuho reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

3M Stock Performance

3M stock remained flat at $101.62 during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,230,587 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,446,716. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $99.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $56.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.95. 3M has a one year low of $71.12 and a one year high of $106.04.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current year.

3M Cuts Dividend

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

3M Company 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.