3M Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MMM)

3M (NYSE:MMM) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors acquired 28,979 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 41% compared to the typical daily volume of 20,561 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of 3M in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 3M from $112.00 to $105.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded 3M from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, 3M presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.70.

3M Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $98.42 on Thursday. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $99.70. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.00.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The conglomerate reported $2.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.10 by $0.29. 3M had a positive return on equity of 95.80% and a negative net margin of 21.57%. The company had revenue of $8 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that 3M will post 7.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $1.51 dividend. This is a boost from 3M’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -47.48%.

Insider Transactions at 3M

In related news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 426 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.32, for a total value of $39,328.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 3,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $366,141.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 3M by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,343 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 939 shares during the period. Golden State Equity Partners grew its stake in 3M by 13.3% in the third quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 3,494 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 21.8% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 136,125 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $11,851,000 after acquiring an additional 24,338 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of 3M by 2.8% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 442,306 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $41,409,000 after acquiring an additional 12,007 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edmp Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 19.5% during the third quarter. Edmp Inc. now owns 13,996 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,287 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% 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.