BluePath Capital Management LLC Raises Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 21.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,405 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $862,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peak Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,891,000. Meyer Handelman Co. grew its holdings in 3M by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Meyer Handelman Co. now owns 197,618 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $25,511,000 after acquiring an additional 2,678 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in 3M by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 4,728 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 164.4% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 16,356 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 10,169 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,797 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MMM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of 3M from $143.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group raised 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Mizuho raised their price objective on 3M from $105.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $96.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.13.

3M Price Performance

NYSE:MMM opened at $138.07 on Thursday. 3M has a 12-month low of $75.40 and a 12-month high of $141.34. The firm has a market cap of $75.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $130.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. 3M had a net margin of 15.37% and a return on equity of 104.66%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.35%.

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.