Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Stake in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 222,072 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,298 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $14,801,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of CMS. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of CMS Energy by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in CMS Energy by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in CMS Energy by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in CMS Energy by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 4,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of CMS stock opened at $74.18 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $22.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.27. CMS Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $56.61 and a 12 month high of $75.06.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. Analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. This is an increase from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their target price on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays raised CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CMS Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.36.

Insider Activity at CMS Energy

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total value of $147,540.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 71,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,306,349.87. The trade was a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

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.