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

3M (NYSE:MMM) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 51,412 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 150% compared to the average daily volume of 20,536 call options.

Insider Transactions at 3M

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Stonegate Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 252,847 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $34,564,000 after purchasing an additional 13,473 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in 3M by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 3,991 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. lifted its holdings in 3M by 19.2% during the 2nd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 38,469 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $3,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,185 shares during the last quarter. True Vision MN LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $512,000. Finally, Clifford Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 3M by 21.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clifford Capital Partners LLC now owns 171,152 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $17,490,000 after purchasing an additional 30,009 shares during the last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

3M Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $127.91 on Thursday. 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 has a 12 month low of $72.47 and a 12 month high of $141.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $133.07 and a 200-day moving average of $113.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.05. 3M had a return on equity of 112.92% and a net margin of 3.08%. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 24.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is currently -22.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MMM. Argus upgraded 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Melius raised 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays upped their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley began coverage on 3M in a research report on Friday, September 6th. They set an “underweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on 3M from $99.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $135.67.

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.