Traders Buy Large Volume of 3M Call Options (NYSE:MMM)

3M (NYSE:MMM) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 51,412 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 150% compared to the average volume of 20,536 call options.

Insider Activity

In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other 3M news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total transaction of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares in the company, valued at $541,659.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of 3M

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of 3M during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of 3M during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 3M by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 217,745 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 17,211 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 223 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 3M by 689.7% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.25% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock traded down $1.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $133.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,089,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,914,458. The stock has a market cap of $73.70 billion, a PE ratio of -10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95. The company’s 50 day moving average is $132.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.18. 3M has a fifty-two week low of $71.12 and a fifty-two week high of $141.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The company had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -22.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MMM. Citigroup raised their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on 3M from $93.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Melius Research raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Argus raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $110.00 to $150.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.87.

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.