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

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 65,787 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 534% compared to the average volume of 10,377 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 3,477 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.63, for a total transaction of $523,740.51. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,561 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $385,763.43. The trade was a 57.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Christian T. Goralski, Jr. sold 6,165 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $925,859.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 2,900 shares in the company, valued at $435,522. This trade represents a 68.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in 3M by 0.8% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 9,205 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $1,428,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. now owns 1,255 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $195,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of 3M by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 16,920 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $2,576,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 3M by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. TCV Trust & Wealth Management Inc. now owns 6,497 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in 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 last quarter. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group set a $190.00 price target on shares of 3M in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on 3M from $176.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 3M from $160.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on 3M from $177.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of 3M in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $172.67.

3M Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MMM opened at $166.99 on Thursday. 3M has a twelve month low of $121.98 and a twelve month high of $169.18. The firm has a market cap of $88.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $149.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.87.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The conglomerate reported $2.45 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $8.38 billion for the quarter. 3M had a return on equity of 100.89% and a net margin of 13.70%. Analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.61%.

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.