Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on 3M (NYSE:MMM)

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 48,192 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 218% compared to the typical volume of 15,159 call options.

Insider Activity at 3M

In other news, insider Rodriguez Beatriz Karin Chavez sold 1,645 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.25, for a total transaction of $247,161.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $774,238.25. The trade was a 24.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kevin H. Rhodes sold 6,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.85, for a total value of $1,010,438.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 4,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,564.70. The trade was a 57.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,736 shares of company stock valued at $9,081,260. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in 3M by 930.2% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 12,743 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $1,871,000 after buying an additional 11,506 shares during the last quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd grew its holdings in 3M by 43.9% in the 1st quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd now owns 2,622 shares of the conglomerate's stock valued at $385,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of 3M by 5.2% during the first quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 9,967 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,464,000 after buying an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in 3M during the first quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Beaton Management Co. Inc. grew its position in 3M by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc. now owns 10,925 shares of the conglomerate's stock worth $1,604,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.25% of the company's stock.

3M Stock Down 1.1 %

NYSE:MMM traded down $1.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $137.30. 2,141,243 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,175,835. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.41. 3M has a twelve month low of $91.56 and a twelve month high of $156.35. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $143.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.23. The firm has a market cap of $73.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 1.01.

3M (NYSE:MMM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The conglomerate reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.11. 3M had a net margin of 15.71% and a return on equity of 100.77%. The company had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.78 billion. On average, research analysts expect that 3M will post 7.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

3M Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 12th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from 3M's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. 3M's payout ratio is presently 36.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MMM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $175.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 3M from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price target on 3M from $160.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of 3M in a report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $147.00.

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.