10 Biggest Dividend Cuts and Suspensions of 2024

1. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 82

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) is a Minnesota-based multinational conglomerate that operates in a wide variety of industries. Earlier this year, the company faced considerable difficulties, such as spinning off its healthcare division and cutting its dividend by 50%. It has also been dealing with persistent legal and regulatory pressures for several years. However, the company is taking steps to tackle these issues and has created a strategy to handle the associated costs. Notably, management’s outlook has become more positive now compared to their perspective earlier in the year. The stock is up by over 40.5% in 2024 so far.

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) posted solid earnings for the third quarter of 2024. The company generated $6.07 billion in revenue, marking a slight 1% year-over-year growth. This result exceeded analysts’ expectations by $10.66 million. Additionally, 3M demonstrated strong operational performance, with double-digit growth in adjusted earnings and solid adjusted free cash flow generation.

In addition, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) showcased a strong cash position during the quarter. The company generated $1.5 billion in free cash flow, enabling it to return $1.1 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Prior to reducing its dividend earlier this year, 3M had maintained a 66-year record of consecutive dividend increases.

3M Company (NYSE:MMM) was a favored investment choice among top money managers in the third quarter of 2024. According to Insider Monkey’s data, 82 hedge funds held positions in the company, up from 66 in the previous quarter.

Overall, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) ranks first on our list of companies with recent dividend cuts. While we acknowledge the potential for MMM to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MMM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. 

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