5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: 3M

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, diversified technology company 3M (NYSE: MMM  ) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at 3M's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

3M facts

Headquarters (Founded)	St. Paul, Minn. (1902)
Market Cap	$53.4 billion
Industry	Industrial conglomerates
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$29.2 billion
Management	Chairman/CEO George Buckley CFO David Meline
Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)	25.9%
Cash/Debt	$4.86 billion / $6.16 billion
Dividend Yield	2.9%
Competitors	Avery Dennison (NYSE: AVY  ) DuPont (NYSE: DD  ) Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ  )

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 4,425 members who have rated 3M believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include All-Star efmagowan, who is ranked in the top 10% of our community, and KCinAustria.

Just last month, efmagowan touched on 3M's ubiquitous nature:

It's 3M. Think of how many ways 3M products touch your life every day. Multiply that by several billion people and growing. Buy it, hold it; rinse and repeat.

Over the next five years, 3M is even expected to grow its bottom line at a solid rate of 11% annually. That's faster than rivals like Avery Dennison (1%), DuPont (10%), and Johnson & Johnson (6%).

CAPS member KCinAustria offers 10 more reasons to buy into 3M:

1) ROE consistently in the 25-35% range
2) Profit margins consistently in the 12-16% range
3) They have a long history of innovation
4) Everyone has post-it notes & scotch tape
5) Their balance sheet is fairly solid ...
6) Their owner earnings have been growing ...
7) They're a great company, at a good price.
8) I calculate their intrinsic value to be [$80 billion]. ... Their current market cap is [~$54B].
9) I'm pretty sure this is a company I will still want to own in 10 years
10) Dividend yield of 2.8%, and they have a history of raising dividends.

What do you think about 3M, or any other stock for that matter? If you want to retire rich, you need to put together the best portfolio you can. Owning exceptional stocks is a surefire way to secure your financial future, and on Motley Fool CAPS, thousands of investors are working every day to find them. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!