CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Shares Sold by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC cut its holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 90.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 66,247 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CMS. Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in CMS Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $333,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 76,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,103,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 26,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 8,927 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its stake in CMS Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 170,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,377,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Stock Down 3.6 %

CMS Energy stock opened at $72.81 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.44. The company has a market cap of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. CMS Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $56.61 and a 1-year high of $76.45.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, sell-side analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CMS Energy news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total value of $467,392.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. This represents a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of CMS Energy 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 38,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,709,093.60. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of CMS Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.36.

CMS Energy 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.