Topic: How To Invest

Dividend Advisor Hotline – Friday, November 1, 2019

Article Excerpt

3M COMPANY, $170.09, New York symbol MMM, is still a buy for long-term gains. The company makes over 60,000 consumer and industrial goods, including Post-It notes, Scotch tape, Scotch-Brite cleaning products, Scotchguard fabric protection and Thinsulate insulation. Starting with the March 2019 payment, 3M raised its quarterly dividend by 5.9%. Investors now receive $1.44 a share, up from $1.36. The new annual rate of $5.76 yields 3.4%. The company reported better-than-expected earnings for its latest quarter but cut its full-year outlook. 3M earned $1.58 billion in the three months ended September 30, 2019. That’s up 2.6% from $1.54 billion a year earlier. Due to fewer shares outstanding, earnings per share rose 5.4%, to $2.72 from $2.58. The latest earnings included a $0.14-a-share gain on the sale of a business. Without that, 3M earned $2.58 a share. On that basis, the latest earnings beat the consensus estimate of $2.50 a share. Sales in the quarter fell 2.0%, to $7.99 billion from $8.15 billion a year earlier…