Sale bolsters Solventum balance sheet

Article Excerpt

SOLVENTUM CORP. $74 is a hold. The company (New York symbol SOLV; Conservative Growth Portfolio; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 173.0 million; Market cap: $12.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 1.6; No dividend paid; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.solvemntum.com) makes wound infection prevention and dental products. On April 1, 2024, 3M Corp. (New York symbol MMM) spun off its healthcare division as Solventum. Investors received one share of Solventum for every four 3M shares they held. 3M retained a 19.9% stake in the new firm, but it plans to sell those shares within five years. The company is now selling its purification and filtration business to Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (New York symbol TMO) for $4.1 billion in cash. Those products remove contaminants from water and other fluids. The cash will help Solventum pay down its long-term debt of $7.81 billion (as of December 31, 2024), which is a high 60% of its market cap. Solventum is a hold. hold…