I recently made a portfolio shift, capturing a material loss in 3M (NYSE: MMM) so I could reduce the tax hit from taking profits in a real estate investment trust (REIT) that I will be switching into a Roth account. As I reduced my stake in 3M, however, I decided I needed to make another change. That included buying Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG). Here's a side-by-side comparison to show why I got into Leggett & Platt instead of waiting and going back into 3M.

One of the things I like to see in a company is a proven ability to handle adversity. Every company faces hard times, as nothing goes up or down in a straight line -- in life or on Wall Street. That's as true for a $55 billion market cap diversified industrial giant like 3M, which makes thousands of products across the safety, industrial, healthcare, automotive, electronic, and consumer products arenas, as it is for $4 billion market cap Leggett & Platt, which makes bedding, furniture, flooring, fabric, auto, hydraulic, and aerospace products.

A company's dividend history is where I look for an indication of success here, since you don't continually increase a dividend each year without doing something right. 

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Source Fool.com