3M Company Seeks Growth, But at What Price?

3M Company (NYSE: MMM) needs sales growth. Just like peer Illinois Tool Works (NYSE: ITW), its stock price is starting to look heady -- both companies are trading in excess of their pre-recession valuations -- and it needs growth now in order to justify its rating. Moreover, with 3M's CFO Nick Gangestad claiming dividend growth would "be very similar to what we anticipate for earnings-per-share growth," 3M needs sales and earnings growth in the future -- a near 2.2% dividend yield isn't particularly exciting. Can 3M Company increase its growth rate?

ITW EV to EBITDA (TTM) data by YCharts

It might seem churlish to call into a question the growth prospects of a company that's raised its full-year sales outlook in the first-two quarters of 2017 alone.

Source: Fool.com