You've got to love 3M (NYSE: MMM). The company, whose colleagues include Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and DuPont (NYSE: DD), reported earnings for the third quarter on Tuesday. The numbers appeared good to me.

3M's revenues increased over 6%. Operating income went up well over 8% (excluding special items). Operating income margins rose 60 basis points. The bottom line went up 10%, coming in at $1.42 per share on an adjusted basis. Analysts were looking for about $1.38 per share, so management certainly beat the experts on Wall Street. One of the great things about this Dow component is its ability to generate a decent stream of cash flow. For the nine-month period, 3M delivered $3.4 billion in operational cash flow. That represented a 25% increase. Capital expenditures remained about the same, so free cash flow also took a really superb hike. Free cash generated came in at $2.4 billion, a 42% increase.

For the year, 3M expects to earn at least $5.40 to $5.48 per share, excluding special adjustments. If 3M hits even the low end of the range, then the stock has to be considered cheap. The blue-chip company, which operates in many different areas, including health care and transportation, and which produces products as varied as adhesive tape and surgical masks, closed on Tuesday at about $60 per share. It's well off the 52-week high of $88.70 and it's not too near the 52-week low of around $50.

I like the yield and the valuation, but I'd like to wait for a bit of a pullback before taking a look at 3M. We're just not in a decidedly upward-trending market, and guidance could change (as it apparently did since the last time I covered 3M). Buying on pullbacks is always smart strategy.

Disclosure: I don't own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.