Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its stake in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 844,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.28% of CMS Energy worth $56,253,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in CMS Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $333,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 10.6% in the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 992.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 251,525 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,075,000 after purchasing an additional 228,501 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,610,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $537,503,000 after purchasing an additional 719,093 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 5,662 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CMS opened at $72.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.92. CMS Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $56.61 and a 52-week high of $75.06.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.36%.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In other news, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total transaction of $1,893,187.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 144,059 shares in the company, valued at $9,486,285.15. The trade was a 16.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 39,950 shares of company stock valued at $2,682,720 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CMS Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

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.