On March 9, 2023 at 15:15:46 ET an unusually large $1,215.50K block of Put contracts in 3M (MMM) was bought, with a strike price of $125.00 / share, expiring in 8 days (on March 17, 2023). Fintel tracks all large options trades, and the premium spent on this trade was 2.86 sigmas above the mean, placing it in the 99.78 percentile of all recent large trades made in MMM options.

This trade was first picked up on Fintel’s real time Unusual Option Trades tool, where unusual option trades are highlighted.

Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 16.95% Upside

As of March 9, 2023, the average one-year price target for 3M is $125.32. The forecasts range from a low of $107.06 to a high of $220.50. The average price target represents an increase of 16.95% from its latest reported closing price of $107.16.

See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.

The projected annual revenue for 3M is $34,318MM, an increase of 0.26%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is $10.57.

What is the Fund Sentiment?

There are 2937 funds or institutions reporting positions in 3M. This is an increase of 49 owner(s) or 1.70% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to MMM is 0.32%, a decrease of 6.00%. Total shares owned by institutions increased in the last three months by 0.28% to 392,207K shares. The put/call ratio of MMM is 1.04, indicating a bearish outlook.

What are Large Shareholders Doing?

VTSMX – Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 17,023K shares representing 3.09% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 16,731K shares, representing an increase of 1.71%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MMM by 1.97% over the last quarter.

Charles Schwab Investment Management holds 13,133K shares representing 2.39% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 12,016K shares, representing an increase of 8.50%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MMM by 99.90% over the last quarter.

VFINX – Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 12,778K shares representing 2.32% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 12,550K shares, representing an increase of 1.78%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MMM by 1.80% over the last quarter.

Geode Capital Management holds 10,855K shares representing 1.97% ownership of the company. In it’s prior filing, the firm reported owning 10,347K shares, representing an increase of 4.68%. The firm increased its portfolio allocation in MMM by 5.27% over the last quarter.

State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance holds 9,557K shares representing 1.74% ownership of the company. No change in the last quarter.

3M Declares $1.50 Dividend

On February 7, 2023 the company declared a regular quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share ($6.00 annualized). Shareholders of record as of February 17, 2023 will receive the payment on March 12, 2023. Previously, the company paid $1.49 per share.

At the current share price of $107.16 / share, the stock’s dividend yield is 5.60%. Looking back five years and taking a sample every week, the average dividend yield has been 3.48%, the lowest has been 2.27%, and the highest has been 5.54%. The standard deviation of yields is 0.70 (n=236).

The current dividend yield is 3.01 standard deviations above the historical average.

Additionally, the company’s dividend payout ratio is 0.57. The payout ratio tells us how much of a company’s income is paid out in dividends. A payout ratio of one (1.0) means 100% of the company’s income is paid in a dividend. A payout ratio greater than one means the company is dipping into savings in order to maintain its dividend – not a healthy situation. Companies with few growth prospects are expected to pay out most of their income in dividends, which typically means a payout ratio between 0.5 and 1.0. Companies with good growth prospects are expected to retain some earnings in order to invest in those growth prospects, which translates to a payout ratio of zero to 0.5.

The company’s 3-Year dividend growth rate is 0.02%, demonstrating that it has increased its dividend over time.

3M Background Information
(This description is provided by the company.)

3M Company is a diversified corporation manufacturing a wide range of products, including abrasives, adhesive tape and related products, and consumer-electronics components. It is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. 3M apply science in collaborative ways to improve lives daily. With $32 billion in sales, 96,000 employees connect with customers all around the world.

This article originally appeared on Fintel