Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $1,073,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of CMS. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth $333,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 11,925 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $842,000 after purchasing an additional 1,147 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised 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 during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake 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 period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662 shares during the period. 93.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CMS Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE CMS opened at $68.88 on Tuesday. CMS Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $56.31 and a 12 month high of $72.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.94 and a 200-day moving average of $68.12.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. CMS Energy’s payout ratio is presently 62.05%.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In other CMS Energy news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total value of $64,116.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,672,564.50. This represents a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total value of $134,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 63,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,248,102.34. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,386 shares of company stock valued at $2,559,136. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on CMS shares. Scotiabank lifted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price objective on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.15.

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.