Split-off helped fund share buybacks

Article Excerpt

3M COMPANY $123 remains a buy. The company (New York symbol MMM; Income Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 576.3 million; Market cap: $70.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.0; Dividend yield: 4.9%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.3m.com) produces more than 60,000 items, including air purifiers, adhesives, bandages and components for medical devices. On September 1, 2022, 3M merged its Food Safety business with Neogen Corp. (New York symbol NEOG) in a split-off transaction. 3M investors who opted to participate now hold 50.1% of the combined firm, with Neogen shareholders holding the remaining 49.9%. As part of the deal, 3M received a cash payment of $828 million. Those funds helped support 3M’s share buyback plan—it spent $928 million on buybacks in the first nine months of 2022. The company still has $4.66 billion remaining under its current repurchase authorization. 3M is a buy. buy…