Latest news with #3M
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
3M Rises 40.2% in a Year and Outpaces Industry: Should You Buy the Stock Now?
3M Company's MMM shares have gained 40.2% over the past year, outperforming the S&P 500's growth of 9.4% and the Zacks Diversified Operations industry's growth of 3%. The diversified technology company has also outperformed industry players like Honeywell International Inc. HON and Carlisle Companies Incorporated CSL, which have returned 3.6% and lost 15.3%, respectively, over the same time frame. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Closing at $142.51 in the last trading session, the stock is trading below its 52-week high of $156.35 but significantly higher than its 52-week low of $98.26. 3M stock is trading above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating solid upward momentum and price stability. This reflects a positive market sentiment and confidence in the company's financial health and long-term prospects. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The strongest driver of 3M's business at the moment is solid momentum in the Safety and Industrial segment, driven by strength in roofing granules, industrial adhesives and tapes, and electrical markets. Strong demand for cable accessories, driven by an increase in the construction of data centers and renewable energy projects, is driving the segment's performance. Also, an increase in demand for industrial and electronics bonding solutions has been proving the first quarter of 2025, revenues from the electrical, industrial adhesives and tapes markets grew in the high-single-digit range, while the same from roofing granules, industrial specialties and personal safety markets increased in the low-single-digit range. The Safety and Industrial segment's organic sales improved 2.5% year over year in the company's Transportation and Electronics segment is witnessing strength in the aerospace market. Robust momentum in the commercial aircraft and defense-related business and project wins in the advanced materials business are proving beneficial for the aerospace market's revenues increased in the low-double-digit range in the first quarter, while the same from the advanced materials market grew in the high-single-digit range. The Transportation and Electronics segment's adjusted organic sales grew 1.1% in the quarter. However, persistent weakness in the automotive electrification market, due to lower automotive OEM build rates, has remained a major concern.3M remains focused on rewarding its shareholders through dividend payouts and share buybacks. In first-quarter 2025, it used $396 million in paying out dividends and $1.3 billion in buybacks. Also, in 2024, it paid dividends worth $2 billion and repurchased shares for $1.8 billion. In February 2025, the quarterly dividend was hiked by 4%. For 2025, it expects to repurchase shares worth $2 billion. 3M has been grappling with persistent weakness in the Consumer segment due to soft consumer discretionary spending. The segment's revenues declined 1.4% in the first quarter, following a 1.9% decrease in 2024. There was a particular weakness in the command and packaging expression businesses. It expects consumer retail discretionary spending on hardline goods to remain muted in the near term, which is likely to hurt its overall the first quarter, 3M's long-term debt was high at $12.3 billion, reflecting an increase of 10.8% sequentially. Also, interest expenses in the quarter remained high at $255 million. Its short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt totaled $1.2 billion. 3M's long-term debt-to-capital ratio is currently pegged at 73.1%, higher than the industry's 54%. High debt levels, if not controlled, can increase financial obligations and prove detrimental to profitability in the quarters also operates in the highly competitive electronics, transportation, aerospace, defense and other markets, comprising well-recognised providers of highly engineered products. As one of its peers, Honeywell serves as a global diversified technology and manufacturing company, with diversified products and services. Carlisle, another peer, engages in the design, manufacture and sale of a wide range of roofing, waterproofing and engineered products, and finishing equipment. Earnings estimates for 3M have moved down over the past 60 days. Earnings estimates for second-quarter 2025 and 2025 have declined 1% and 0.9%, respectively. (Find the latest EPS estimates and surprises on Zacks Earnings Calendar.) Image Source: Zacks Investment Research MMM is trading at a premium to industry peers with a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of 17.96X. The current valuation is above its five-year median of 15.98X and has surpassed the broader industry's multiple of 16.37X. In comparison, Honeywell and Carlisle are trading at 20.56X and 15.11X, respectively. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Despite 3M's several upsides and robust share price returns, the near-term challenges, such as weakness in the retail market, high debt level and premium valuation, are limiting this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company's near-term prospects. While current shareholders should hold their positions, new investors should wait for the stock to retract some of its recent gains and provide a better entry can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Honeywell International Inc. (HON) : Free Stock Analysis Report 3M Company (MMM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Carlisle Companies Incorporated (CSL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Malaysian Reserve
6 days ago
- Business
- Malaysian Reserve
Waystar Appoints Aashima Gupta and Michael Roman to Board of Directors
New directors bring deep expertise in AI innovation, healthcare, and enterprise growth LEHI, Utah and LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Waystar Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: WAY), a provider of leading healthcare payment software, today announced the appointment of two accomplished leaders, Aashima Gupta, Global Director of Healthcare Strategy and Solutions at Google Cloud, and Michael Roman, former Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of 3M, to its Board of Directors. 'We're honored to welcome Aashima and Mike to Waystar's Board,' said Matt Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer at Waystar. 'They bring distinguished experience and expertise at the intersection of innovation, healthcare, and enterprise leadership. Their perspectives and strategic acumen will help guide our continued growth and innovation as we advance our mission to simplify healthcare payments and continue delivering long-term value to our clients, shareholders, and team members.' Ms. Gupta brings significant expertise in AI strategy and digital transformation to improve healthcare access and efficiency. At Google Cloud, she has spearheaded groundbreaking healthcare AI initiatives, leveraging cloud and data technologies to improve care access, efficiency, and outcomes at scale. She also serves on the boards of Neogen, Mölnlycke Health Care, and the HIMSS Global Health Advisory Board. Modern Healthcare named Ms. Gupta one of the Top 10 Executives to Watch in 2024. Mr. Roman served at 3M for nearly 40 years, including as CEO, chairman, and executive chairman. He is recognized for his strategic leadership, operational excellence, and product innovation at a global technology company generating approximately $32 billion in annual revenue, a quarter of which came from its healthcare division. Mr. Roman currently serves on the board of Abbott Laboratories and the Board of Trustees for the University of Minnesota Foundation. About WaystarWaystar's mission-critical software is purpose-built to simplify healthcare payments so providers can prioritize patient care and optimize their financial performance. Waystar serves approximately 30,000 clients, representing over 1 million distinct providers, including 16 of 20 institutions on the U.S. News Best Hospitals list. Waystar's enterprise-grade platform annually processes over 6 billion healthcare payment transactions, including over $1.8 trillion in annual gross claims and spanning approximately 50% of U.S. patients. Waystar strives to transform healthcare payments so providers can focus on what matters most: their patients and communities. Discover the way forward at Media ContactKristin Investor ContactSandy Draperinvestors@
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Waystar Appoints Aashima Gupta and Michael Roman to Board of Directors
New directors bring deep expertise in AI innovation, healthcare, and enterprise growth LEHI, Utah and LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Waystar Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: WAY), a provider of leading healthcare payment software, today announced the appointment of two accomplished leaders, Aashima Gupta, Global Director of Healthcare Strategy and Solutions at Google Cloud, and Michael Roman, former Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of 3M, to its Board of Directors. "We're honored to welcome Aashima and Mike to Waystar's Board," said Matt Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer at Waystar. "They bring distinguished experience and expertise at the intersection of innovation, healthcare, and enterprise leadership. Their perspectives and strategic acumen will help guide our continued growth and innovation as we advance our mission to simplify healthcare payments and continue delivering long-term value to our clients, shareholders, and team members." Ms. Gupta brings significant expertise in AI strategy and digital transformation to improve healthcare access and efficiency. At Google Cloud, she has spearheaded groundbreaking healthcare AI initiatives, leveraging cloud and data technologies to improve care access, efficiency, and outcomes at scale. She also serves on the boards of Neogen, Mölnlycke Health Care, and the HIMSS Global Health Advisory Board. Modern Healthcare named Ms. Gupta one of the Top 10 Executives to Watch in 2024. Mr. Roman served at 3M for nearly 40 years, including as CEO, chairman, and executive chairman. He is recognized for his strategic leadership, operational excellence, and product innovation at a global technology company generating approximately $32 billion in annual revenue, a quarter of which came from its healthcare division. Mr. Roman currently serves on the board of Abbott Laboratories and the Board of Trustees for the University of Minnesota Foundation. About WaystarWaystar's mission-critical software is purpose-built to simplify healthcare payments so providers can prioritize patient care and optimize their financial performance. Waystar serves approximately 30,000 clients, representing over 1 million distinct providers, including 16 of 20 institutions on the U.S. News Best Hospitals list. Waystar's enterprise-grade platform annually processes over 6 billion healthcare payment transactions, including over $1.8 trillion in annual gross claims and spanning approximately 50% of U.S. patients. Waystar strives to transform healthcare payments so providers can focus on what matters most: their patients and communities. Discover the way forward at Media ContactKristin Investor ContactSandy Draperinvestors@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Waystar Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
SBS Australia
14-06-2025
- Health
- SBS Australia
Australia's 'forever chemical' blind spots — and what could reduce your levels
Earlier this year, it was revealed that 3M knew firefighting foams containing PFAS substances were toxic. It has produced fire fighting foams since the 1960s and started phasing out the substances in the early 2000s. Source: AAP / Craig Abraham, Fairfax pool Many Australians have some level of PFAS — often dubbed forever chemicals — in their body, but understanding their impacts and strategies for reducing them is lacking. This week, scientists and experts continued to give evidence to a federal inquiry investigating the regulation and management of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Their remarks highlighted a series of knowledge gaps that make it difficult to ascertain the health impacts of these chemicals, which are present in our environment and bodies. It also served as a reminder about one of the only known ways to reduce our levels. PFAS are synthetic compounds found in a variety of industrial and consumer products, including makeup, non-stick cooking surfaces and food packaging, due to their heat, stain, grease and water-resistant properties. They often don't degrade in the environment and build up in our bodies, earning them the title "forever chemicals". Professor Peter Sly, deputy director of the Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, said control groups with no level of PFAS simply "don't exist anymore". "I'm afraid every person in Australia has PFAS levels in their body. It's a matter of how high they are," he told the PFAS committee hearing on Tuesday. Last month, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released data that tested for 11 different PFAS levels in the general population. It detected three types of PFAS in the blood of over 85 per cent of the population. While research groups currently test for over 40 different types of PFAS, the ABS estimates there are more than 15,000 identified compounds belonging to the PFAS class of chemicals. In 2022, a world-first Australian study investigated whether blood and plasma donations could remediate elevated PFAS levels in 285 firefighters. Historically, firefighters have been exposed to higher levels of PFAS through the frequent use of firefighting foams, although alternatives have since been developed that do not include these chemicals. Following 12 months of testing staff, the study found that those who donated blood every 12 weeks had a 10 per cent reduction in PFAS chemicals. The group that donated plasma every six weeks had their PFAS levels reduced by 30 per cent, with no significant change for the control group who did neither. Miri Forbes, one of the study authors and an associate professor at Sydney's Macquarie University, said understanding the impact of the reduced levels on the human body requires further study. "We don't know yet. This is the first study that has found how we can reduce PFAS," she told SBS News. "It was really exciting to know that it's possible to be able to reduce the levels of PFAS we can measure in the blood, but we need to understand, what are the health implications of that?" Other observational studies have found women have reduced levels. PFAS leave the body during menstruation and the replenished blood supply doesn't have PFAS, lowering the overall levels. Martyn Kirk, a professor of epidemiology at the Australian National University, told SBS News that there is still plenty we don't know about PFAS. These blind spots include; The long-term health impacts of low exposure The health impacts on highly exposed individuals Where exposure comes from in the household environment Methods of reducing PFAS While there have been studies that have linked higher levels of PFAS with health impacts, such as higher levels of cholesterol, many don't yield consistent results, making conclusions difficult. Kirk said longitudinal studies, which can be reproduced and repeated, are needed to capture exposure levels across different areas and ages as well as demonstrate where levels decline over time. He believes highly exposed people, such as firefighters, present an opportunity to understand the link to different health outcomes. "You've got a much greater chance of being able to identify the potential relationship between exposure and disease, whereas in the community, the levels are often very low," he said. A barrier to obtaining datasets for scientific research is the cost of samples, which are complex to interpret and expensive as a result. Sly suggested a biomonitoring program by collecting leftover blood from hospitals and pooling samples. "By pooling samples, you protect individuals' identity, and secondly, you only have to measure one sample rather than ten or 100," he told the PFAS committee on Tuesday. "And you can get levels across the population," he said, adding that a similar method was currently used to test wastewater for drugs. Companies started phasing out PFAS in the late 1990s and early 2000s, leading to a drop in exposure and blood levels as a result, said Kirk. "We've seen declines in the levels of PFAS in people's blood since 2000," he said. "So we've had nearly a 10-fold decrease in the levels of PFAS in the blood of Australians, and that continues to decrease." He said that unless you're working in one of the industries that are highly exposed, you probably don't have levels that are of concern. However, he noted anxiety in specific communities like at Wreck Bay on the NSW south coast, where an Aboriginal community believe a "cancer cluster" is due to PFAS contamination caused by the Department of Defence. "I think we do need to understand better to assist those communities and also provide better information for the wider community and government to make good policy."
Reuters
13-06-2025
- Business
- Reuters
3M lawsuit says attorneys falsified black lung claims to pressure settlement
CHICAGO, June 13 (Reuters) - 3M sued three plaintiffs' attorneys in federal court on Friday, accusing them of running a racketeering scheme to file dozens of dubious lawsuits over its respirators and then use the claims to pressure the company to settle. The Minnesota-based company sued attorneys Glenn Hammond, Michael Martin and John Givens in Kentucky federal court, accusing them of conspiring to file more than 20 fraudulent complaints on behalf of more than 850 people over the alleged failure of 3M's respirators to protect coal miners from a disease commonly known as black lung. Hammond's law office is in Kentucky, Martin's is in Texas and Givens' is in Mississippi. A law assistant answered an email sent to Martin, saying he was not immediately available to comment on the allegations. Neither Hammond nor Givens immediately responded to requests for comment. A spokesperson for 3M declined to comment. The company is seeking reimbursement of its costs to defend against the lawyers' claims, as well as 'the ill-gotten gains from the defendants' unlawful scheme.' 3M has faced hundreds of millions of dollars in litigation costs related to lawsuits brought by coal miners over its 'dust masks,' or respirators, which can be worn in mines as a protective measure against dust, according to filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2018, a jury awarded two coal miners $65 million after finding that 3M's respirators failed to protect them from coal mine dust. The next year, the company settled the majority of the then-pending coal mine lawsuits in Kentucky and West Virginia for $340 million, according to the filings. In the filings, 3M said its respirators are "effective as claimed when used in the intended manner and in the intended circumstances." The 110-page complaint lays out what 3M says was a years-long plot, beginning in 2020, to pump up the pressure on the company by filing claims the lawyers knew were for people who didn't have black lung, hadn't worn a 3M respirator or were outside of the statute of limitations. 3M says the lawyers falsely attested that the claims were valid. Hammond was responsible for recruiting coal miners to their scheme, often cold-calling them and then coaching them on what to say to make their cases seem viable, the lawsuit said. Hammond would file the claims, and then Martin would litigate them and apply pressure on 3M to settle, the lawsuit said. Givens was the 'work engine' of the plot, doing whatever was needed to move things forward, according to the filing. The plan was to pressure the company to settle the claims en masse, without litigating each case and revealing its problems, the lawsuit claims. At least some of the lawsuits the group brought against 3M are still pending, according to the lawsuit.
