DnB Asset Management AS Buys 85,756 Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 119.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,466 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 85,756 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS owned 0.05% of CMS Energy worth $10,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CMS. Norges Bank bought a new position in CMS Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $171,798,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $53,904,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CMS Energy by 207.9% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,115,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $74,350,000 after purchasing an additional 753,182 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in CMS Energy by 404.8% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 892,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,053,000 after purchasing an additional 715,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in CMS Energy by 760.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 700,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,664,000 after purchasing an additional 618,767 shares in the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMS traded up $0.86 during trading on Thursday, hitting $75.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,123,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,231,721. 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 firm has a market cap of $22.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.91 and a 200-day moving average of $69.38. CMS Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $56.61 and a 12 month high of $76.37.

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CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy's payout ratio is currently 65.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total value of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 38,790 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,709,093.60. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total value of $147,540.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 71,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532 over the last quarter. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded CMS Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised CMS Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CMS Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.