3M can handle rising costs

Article Excerpt

3M COMPANY $192 is a buy. The company (New York symbol MMM; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 579.7 million; Market cap: $111.3 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; Dividend yield: 3.1%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.3m.com) produces more than 60,000 items, including air purifiers, adhesives, bandages and components for medical devices. As the global economy rebounds from the pandemic, 3M is paying more for raw materials. As well, COVID-19 continues to disrupt its supply chains. The company expects these higher expenses are temporary and will cut its projected earnings for all of 2021 by between $0.30 and $0.50 a share. Even so, this year’s projected earnings per share will still likely rise 12.5% to $9.83. The stock trades at a reasonable 19.5 times that forecast. The $5.92 dividend is safe and yields a solid 3.1%. 3M is a buy. buy…