3M Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MMM)

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors bought 54,048 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 423% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,328 call options.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other 3M news, EVP John Patrick Banovetz sold 7,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,372 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,654,663.64. The trade was a 19.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Zoe L. Dickson sold 7,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.02, for a total value of $1,179,493.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,153 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,951 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.1% in the first quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 1.4% in the first quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,580 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $819,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Altman Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of 3M by 0.5% in the first quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 16,690 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $2,318,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of MMM stock opened at $152.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $144.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.76. The stock has a market cap of $81.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.03. 3M has a 1 year low of $98.26 and a 1 year high of $156.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.72, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.66.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.78 billion. 3M had a return on equity of 96.19% and a net margin of 17.79%. Sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MMM shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on 3M from $141.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on 3M from $140.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.83.

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.