The most valuable company in Minnesota is now worth $100 billion.

3M Co. passed the threshold on Thursday when its stock rose to $156.05, a level it has closed above the past three trading days.

The shares reached an all-time high of $158 during Monday's trading and closed Tuesday at $157.11, for a market capitalization of $100.7 billion.

The milestone caps a 28 percent climb in 3M's stock in the past year.

Its latest surge began Oct. 23, when its third-quarter results showed accelerating U.S. sales and executives gave an upbeat outlook. On that day, shares jumped 3 percent to $145. Over the next two weeks, they rose another 7.6 percent, a period in which the Dow Jones industrial average climbed 5.3 percent.

"I am sure the people over there are as pleased, if not more pleased, than we are," said Mark Henneman, executive vice president of Mairs and Power, a major 3M shareholder. "It's just been a phenomenal stock. … It's done really well this year. 3M is a little bit ahead of the overall market, but way ahead of other industrials."

3M expects a record $31 billion in sales this year, with a profit of $7.40 to $7.50 a share, up from $6.70 in 2013.

In the past decade, the Maplewood-based maker of health products, electronics and consumer goods has traded places with UnitedHealth Group Inc. of Minnetonka at least twice for title of the state's most valuable company. For a few months after the market collapse in 2008, both firms were worth less than $30 billion, and Fridley-based Medtronic briefly reigned as the state's most valuable firm.

Even at its new high, 3M still has plenty of climbing to do. It's only the 71st most valuable company in the United States.

Dee DePass