Merit Financial Group LLC Has $10.29 Million Stake in Cummins Inc. $CMI

Key Points

• Merit Financial Group increased its stake in Cummins by 9.3% in Q4 to 20,159 shares, valued at $10.29 million according to its latest 13F filing.
• Cummins outperformed estimates for the quarter with EPS of $5.81 vs. $5.17 expected and revenue of $8.54B vs. $8.09B, prompting analyst price-target raises (Raymond James $675, Barclays $610) and a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $598.47.
• Dividend and insider/institutional activity: the company pays a $2.00 quarterly dividend ($8.00 annual, 1.3% yield), insiders sold 31,195 shares (~$18.4M) in the past 90 days, and institutional investors hold about 83.46% of the stock.

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,159 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,707 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Cummins were worth $10,290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMI. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cummins in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cummins in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cummins in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cummins in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Palouse Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cummins in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.46% of the company's stock.

Cummins Stock Up 3.0%

NYSE:CMI opened at $626.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.76. The company has a market cap of $86.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.55, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.14. Cummins Inc. has a 52-week low of $269.24 and a 52-week high of $628.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $571.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $522.29.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The company reported $5.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.17 by $0.64. The business had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.09 billion. Cummins had a return on equity of 25.71% and a net margin of 8.44%.Cummins's quarterly revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.16 earnings per share. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a $2.00 dividend. This represents a $8.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Cummins's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CMI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial increased their price target on Cummins from $585.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Cummins from $546.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $600.00 price target on Cummins and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Cummins from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Cummins in a report on Friday, April 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $598.47.

Insider Transactions at Cummins

In other Cummins news, VP Jennifer Mary Bush sold 4,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $584.93, for a total value of $2,497,651.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 15,130 shares in the company, valued at $8,849,990.90. This trade represents a 22.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Amy Rochelle Davis sold 4,054 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.34, for a total value of $2,275,672.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 15,807 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,873,101.38. This represents a 20.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,195 shares of company stock valued at $18,397,489. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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