First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Position in Cummins Inc. $CMI

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors cut its stake in Cummins by 27.6% in Q3, selling 60,098 shares and retaining 157,271 shares valued at about $66.4 million (roughly 0.11% of the company).
• Cummins beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $5.81 versus $5.17 expected and revenue of $8.54 billion versus $8.09 billion, with the stock trading near $556 and a market cap around $76.9 billion.
• Notable insider selling occurred recently (Director William I. Miller sold 18,107 shares for ~$10.8M; insiders sold 31,195 shares worth ~$18.4M last quarter), while analysts maintain a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target near $588.93.

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its position in shares of Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI - Free Report) by 27.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,271 shares of the company's stock after selling 60,098 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.11% of Cummins worth $66,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Cummins by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the company's stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cummins by 20.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 890 shares of the company's stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Cummins by 12.3% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,483 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,272,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. United Capital Management of KS Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cummins by 2.0% during the third quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 1,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Cummins by 2.9% in the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,897 shares of the company's stock worth $4,602,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $565.00 price objective on shares of Cummins and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Cummins from $485.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Cummins from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating and set a $540.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Wall Street Zen cut Cummins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Cummins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $588.93.

Insider Activity at Cummins

In related news, Director William I. Miller sold 18,107 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.10, for a total transaction of $10,811,689.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,243 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,446,495.30. This trade represents a 34.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Earl Newsome sold 1,300 shares of Cummins stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $583.67, for a total value of $758,771.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 3,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,978,057.63. The trade was a 27.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 31,195 shares of company stock worth $18,397,489 over the last quarter. 0.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Cummins Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NYSE CMI opened at $556.71 on Wednesday. Cummins Inc. has a 1 year low of $260.02 and a 1 year high of $617.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $572.34 and a 200 day moving average of $493.52. The stock has a market cap of $76.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.12.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $5.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.64. Cummins had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 25.71%. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cummins Inc. will post 22.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cummins Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a $2.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $8.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Cummins's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.99%.

About Cummins

Cummins Inc NYSE: CMI is a global power technology company that designs, manufactures, distributes and services a broad portfolio of diesel and natural gas engines, electrified powertrains, power generation systems and related components. Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Columbus, Indiana, Cummins has grown into one of the world's leading suppliers of internal combustion engines and a provider of technologies that reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency.

The company's product lineup includes heavy-, medium- and light-duty engines for on-highway and off-highway applications, generator sets and power systems for commercial and industrial use, and key engine components such as turbochargers, fuel systems, air handling, filtration and aftertreatment solutions.

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