Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Cummins Inc. $CMI

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Cummins Inc. (NYSE:CMI) by 458.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,075 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90,357 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Cummins were worth $59,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cummins by 10,317.7% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,458,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,929,000 after buying an additional 2,434,876 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Cummins in the fourth quarter worth $863,441,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Cummins in the third quarter worth $473,471,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Cummins by 257.9% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 736,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $396,343,000 after acquiring an additional 530,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Cummins by 245.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 542,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,071,000 after acquiring an additional 385,525 shares during the last quarter. 83.46% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cummins Stock Performance

Shares of CMI opened at $662.51 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $671.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $620.71. The stock has a market cap of $91.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.22. Cummins Inc. has a 52 week low of $354.68 and a 52 week high of $737.76.

Cummins (NYSE:CMI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $6.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $8.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.37 billion. Cummins had a return on equity of 25.25% and a net margin of 7.89%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.96 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Cummins Inc. will post 29.39 EPS for the current year.

Cummins Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be paid a dividend of $2.20 per share. This represents a $8.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 21st. This is a positive change from Cummins’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.00. Cummins’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Cummins in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cummins from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Cummins from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Cummins from $770.00 to $790.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Cummins from $610.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cummins has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $740.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cummins

In other Cummins news, VP Marvin Boakye sold 3,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $679.90, for a total value of $2,366,731.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 8,508 shares in the company, valued at $5,784,589.20. This represents a 29.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Jennifer Mary Bush sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $696.21, for a total transaction of $3,481,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 11,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,344,773.06. This trade represents a 29.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,579 shares of company stock valued at $9,377,684. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.