CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Stake Cut by Partners Group Holding AG

Partners Group Holding AG decreased its holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 657,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 76,529 shares during the period. CMS Energy comprises about 1.6% of Partners Group Holding AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Partners Group Holding AG’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $43,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CMS Energy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,175,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,544,370,000 after purchasing an additional 316,011 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,838,000. Sciencast Management LP raised its position in CMS Energy by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Sciencast Management LP now owns 24,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 3,561 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,506,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 3,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CMS Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

CMS opened at $73.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $69.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.12. CMS Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $56.61 and a fifty-two week high of $75.06.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. On average, analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In other news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total value of $467,392.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. The trade was a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 38,790 shares in the company, valued at $2,709,093.60. The trade was a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $789,532. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.36.

CMS Energy Company Profile

CMS Energy Corporation operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan. The company operates through three segments: Electric Utility; Gas Utility; and Enterprises. The Electric Utility segment is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. This segment generates electricity through coal, wind, gas, renewable energy, oil, and nuclear sources.