Howe & Rusling Inc. Sells 2,495 Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Howe & Rusling Inc. trimmed its position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 126,028 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,495 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $8,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMS. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,448 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,940 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 35.5% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 26,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,876,000 after acquiring an additional 6,959 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of CMS Energy by 83.2% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,551 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,976 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 9.2% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 50,887 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,594,000 after purchasing an additional 4,271 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 25.6% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 982 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:CMS opened at $73.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.88 billion, a PE ratio of 22.06, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.24 and its 200 day moving average is $69.21. CMS Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $56.61 and a fifty-two week high of $75.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In related news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 71,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,306,349.87. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,709,093.60. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CMS Energy 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.