Nuveen Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,624,177 shares of the conglomerate's stock after buying an additional 31,624 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.30% of 3M worth $209,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,810,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of 3M by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 74,300 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $9,591,000 after buying an additional 4,964 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 313,892 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $40,519,000 after buying an additional 100,140 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 141.7% in the fourth quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 58,000 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $7,487,000 after purchasing an additional 34,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lionshead Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of 3M in the fourth quarter worth about $272,000. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MMM shares. Citigroup cut their target price on 3M from $152.00 to $142.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Saturday, May 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.08.

3M Stock Up 2.9%

MMM traded up $4.37 on Friday, hitting $153.11. The company had a trading volume of 3,556,311 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,005,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a 52-week low of $96.76 and a 52-week high of $156.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.02.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. 3M's payout ratio is 36.87%.

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.