Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 78.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,117 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after buying an additional 2,255 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Fragasso Group Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fragasso Group Inc. now owns 2,556 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $239,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in 3M by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 10,489 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC lifted its position in 3M by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 20,931 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in 3M by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,316 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allegheny Financial Group LTD lifted its position in 3M by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Allegheny Financial Group LTD now owns 5,032 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Stock Performance

NYSE MMM traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $101.32. The company had a trading volume of 3,059,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,445,509. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The stock has a market cap of $56.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.14. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $106.04.

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

3M Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MMM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report 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 company from $92.00 to $140.00 in a report on Thursday, May 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a report on Friday, June 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.58.

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.