NavPoint Financial Inc. Invests $803,000 in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

NavPoint Financial Inc. purchased a new position in 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 7,349 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $803,000. 3M accounts for 0.7% of NavPoint Financial Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Briaud Financial Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 91.9% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 449 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 3M from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their price target on shares of 3M from $126.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

3M Stock Up 0.4 %

MMM stock traded up $0.34 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.15. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,818,713 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,770,578. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The company has a market capitalization of $53.76 billion, a PE ratio of -7.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.00. 3M has a 12 month low of $71.12 and a 12 month high of $99.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $96.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.59.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $8 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is an increase from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -47.48%.

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.