Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Sells 72,442 Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lessened its position in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,542,667 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 72,442 shares during the quarter. CMS Energy comprises 1.3% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned about 0.52% of CMS Energy worth $108,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in CMS Energy by 171.9% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 206.1% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 472 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 431.3% in the second quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 712 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 578 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy in the second quarter worth about $43,000. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CMS Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:CMS traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $67.66. 2,827,150 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,278,272. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.41. The business's fifty day moving average price is $69.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.23. CMS Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $55.10 and a twelve month high of $72.40.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.88 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. CMS Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were issued a dividend of $0.515 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This is an increase from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio is 58.86%.

Insider Activity

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.17, for a total value of $136,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 64,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,415,439.07. This represents a 3.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total transaction of $64,116.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,672,564.50. The trade was a 3.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price target on CMS Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lowered CMS Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $76.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $76.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.21.

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.