In this video from "The 5" on Motley Fool Live, recorded on Oct. 4, Fool.com contributor Rachel Warren explains why 3M (MMM +1.38%) stock is an attractive buy right now.
Rachel Warren: One company I really like that runs on manufacturing is a well-known industrial stock 3M, ticker symbol MMM. The company manufactures and sells products that span a wide range of industries, everything from the automotive industry, to healthcare, to electronics. It makes such a diverse assortment of products.
You have cleaning supplies, dental and orthodontic supplies, a mix of electrical components, coatings, labels, face masks. That was a big one in the earlier days of the pandemic and office supplies, so 3M makes it all. Clearly, the company needs seller manufacturing capabilities to get these products out at the pace to fulfill demand and it does go on a really massive scale. 3M has manufacturing plants all over the world. It has quite a few in the USA and it also has plants everywhere across Europe, Asia. This isn't a company that's going to bring in those multi-bagger returns, but it has dealt with mixed financial results over the years.
But I think the strength in 3M lies in it's diverse business, the fact that it does make these essential products that are needed by some many different companies across a wide array of industries.
It is a really great stock if you were looking for dividends. 3M is one of only a few stocks that have qualified to be dividend king. To be a dividend king, the company has to increase dividends every year for 50 years in a row and 3M has done that for 63 years and counting, [laughs] so more than qualifies for that list. I will say it has reported some really great quarters during the pandemic.
The most recent quarter, the company generated about 25% year-over-year revenue growth. It returned $1.4 billion to shareholders in dividends and gross share repurchases. It has a really storied commitment to its dividend, which I think makes it a really reliable stock for income investors.
It had a lot of impressive sales growth, double-digits in all of its business segments everywhere, from transportation, electronics, to healthcare, to safety and industrial. Again, these are areas where there have, in the past year and a half, been a lot of supply chain disruptions.
I think that goes to show the strength of its business and its manufacturing facilities.
It's an interesting stock to buy if you're looking for some stabilities, and slow growth, and particularly, dividends.
