Jennison Associates LLC Purchases 386,093 Shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of 3M Company (NYSE:MMM - Free Report) by 84.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 842,174 shares of the conglomerate's stock after purchasing an additional 386,093 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.16% of 3M worth $123,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 3M by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,574,414 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,493,655,000 after acquiring an additional 280,048 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 3M by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,752,944 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $871,738,000 after acquiring an additional 755,155 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of 3M by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,153,924 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $794,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248,093 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in 3M during the 4th quarter valued at $636,767,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,468,549 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $576,845,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,619 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MMM. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $167.00 target price on shares of 3M in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, 3M has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.33.

3M Trading Down 3.3%

NYSE:MMM traded down $5.23 on Friday, hitting $153.81. 11,699,665 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,841,190. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.02. 3M Company has a 52 week low of $101.77 and a 52 week high of $164.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.66. The company's 50-day moving average price is $149.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.54.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 18th. The conglomerate reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by $0.15. 3M had a return on equity of 96.19% and a net margin of 17.79%. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. 3M's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that 3M Company will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. 3M's payout ratio is 36.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.37, for a total transaction of $1,151,202.83. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,372 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. This represents a 19.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,127 shares in the company, valued at $913,045.54. This trade represents a 56.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.