Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Makes New $446,000 Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,082 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Briaud Financial Planning Inc acquired a new position in 3M during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 3M during the third quarter valued at $37,000. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 89.9% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 338 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Psagot Value Holdings Ltd. Israel purchased a new position in 3M in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

3M Trading Up 0.4 %

MMM opened at $91.80 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $95.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.37. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $95.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The conglomerate reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $8.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. 3M had a positive return on equity of 62.45% and a negative net margin of 21.40%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that 3M will post 8.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were issued a $1.51 dividend. This is a positive change from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -47.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of 3M from $118.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of 3M from $84.00 to $78.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total transaction of $39,328.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.