3M (NYSE:MMM) Shares Sold by PrairieView Partners LLC

PrairieView Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 19.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,696 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after selling 10,728 shares during the period. 3M makes up 0.6% of PrairieView Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. PrairieView Partners LLC’s holdings in 3M were worth $4,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MMM. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,302 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $562,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Southern Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at about $240,000. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at about $8,358,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 4.0% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 19,407 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,059,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares during the period. Finally, Easterly Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the first quarter valued at about $8,125,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMM. Citigroup increased their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on 3M from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $112.17.

3M Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MMM traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $103.21. 4,581,096 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,371,517. The firm has a market cap of $57.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.95. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.00. 3M has a 52-week low of $71.12 and a 52-week high of $106.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.64.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by $0.29. The firm 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 period last year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that 3M will post 7.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -22.01%.

3M 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.