CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. decreased its stake in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,433,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 109,620 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.48% of CMS Energy worth $95,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,798,000. Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,904,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 207.9% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,115,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $74,350,000 after acquiring an additional 753,182 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 715,891 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 760.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 700,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,664,000 after acquiring an additional 618,767 shares during the period. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMS. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CMS Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.36.

CMS Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CMS traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.06. 782,623 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,228,213. 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $70.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.31. The company has a market cap of $22.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. CMS Energy Co. has a one year low of $56.61 and a one year high of $75.55.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a positive change from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.36%.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

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

About CMS Energy

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.