Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Put Options on 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Posted by on Oct 5th, 2023

3M (NYSE:MMM – Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 89,991 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 294% compared to the average volume of 22,860 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On 3M

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its position in shares of 3M by 102,920.1% during the second quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 39,317,632 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $3,935,302,000 after acquiring an additional 39,279,467 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 73,903.2% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,656,588 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $798,258,000 after acquiring an additional 6,647,593 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of 3M during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $369,974,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of 3M by 1,889.1% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,356,600 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $201,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,132,871 shares of the conglomerate’s stock valued at $1,567,502,000 after acquiring an additional 1,116,821 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.24% of the company’s stock.

3M Price Performance

MMM stock opened at $87.96 on Thursday. 3M has a 1 year low of $87.31 and a 1 year high of $133.91. The company has a market cap of $48.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.97, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $102.01 and a 200 day moving average of $101.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

3M (NYSE:MMM – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The conglomerate reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.44. 3M had a negative net margin of 4.43% and a positive return on equity of 38.99%. The company had revenue of $7.99 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. 3M’s revenue was down 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that 3M will post 8.95 EPS for the current year.

3M Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 18th. 3M’s dividend payout ratio is -211.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MMM shares. VNET Group reaffirmed a “maintains” rating on shares of 3M in a report on Tuesday, June 27th. Wolfe Research raised 3M from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on 3M from $100.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 26th. HSBC started coverage on 3M in a research note on Friday, September 15th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $109.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 3M from $110.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eleven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.08.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on 3M

3M Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Safety and Industrial; Transportation and Electronics; Health Care; and Consumer. The 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.

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