Wedmont Private Capital Takes Position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,938 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $321,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in CMS Energy by 310.2% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,125,859 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $79,519,000 after acquiring an additional 851,364 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,610,120 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $537,503,000 after purchasing an additional 719,093 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $63,053,000 after buying an additional 715,891 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 552.9% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 566,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,978,000 after buying an additional 479,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 1,122.4% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 479,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,845,000 after buying an additional 440,000 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CMS Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

CMS Energy stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $68.12. 1,910,198 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,665,940. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $67.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.86. CMS Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $55.10 and a 12 month high of $72.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.42.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.88 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 14.01% and a return on equity of 12.81%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th were given a dividend of $0.515 per share. This is an increase from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $2.06 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CMS. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho lowered shares of CMS Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $76.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on CMS Energy in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CMS Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 936 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.50, for a total value of $64,116.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 24,417 shares in the company, valued at $1,672,564.50. This trade represents a 3.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John G. Russell sold 28,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.85, for a total transaction of $1,893,187.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 144,059 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,486,285.15. This trade represents a 16.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,686 shares of company stock worth $2,228,084 in the last quarter. 0.53% of the stock is 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.