Nordea Investment Management AB Buys 2,448 Shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in 3M (NYSE:MMM) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,109 shares of the conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in 3M were worth $7,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 3.0% in the third quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,032 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,235,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 737,075 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $100,758,000 after purchasing an additional 97,741 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC boosted its position in shares of 3M by 84.6% during the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 3,805 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in 3M by 26.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 845,401 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $114,770,000 after purchasing an additional 178,450 shares during the period. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in 3M by 0.7% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 116,993 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $15,993,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MMM has been the subject of several research reports. Melius upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of 3M from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Melius Research upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upgraded 3M from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $184.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on 3M from $165.00 to $161.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.33.

3M Stock Performance

MMM stock opened at $134.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.41, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.08. 3M has a 1 year low of $75.40 and a 1 year high of $141.34. The company has a market cap of $73.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $130.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.11.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 104.66% and a net margin of 15.37%. The business had revenue of $6.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. 3M’s payout ratio is 35.35%.

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.