Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Has $547,000 Holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd decreased its stake in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 67.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,210 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 17,186 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 106.8% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in CMS Energy by 2,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in CMS Energy in the 4th quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Robbins Farley acquired a new position in CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth $62,000. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CMS opened at $72.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.76 billion, a PE ratio of 21.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. CMS Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $56.61 and a 12-month high of $76.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $71.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.43.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last posted its earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a $0.5425 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 65.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total transaction of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. The trade was a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532 in the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. 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, Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.36.

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.