T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,106,339 Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 90.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 212,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,106,339 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of CMS Energy worth $14,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of CMS. Smith Group Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $333,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 39.1% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,133 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 5,662 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 76,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,103,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 49.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 26,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,787,000 after acquiring an additional 8,927 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in CMS Energy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 170,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,377,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CMS Energy Price Performance

CMS opened at $72.21 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.67. 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 $21.58 billion, a PE ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.34. CMS Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $58.50 and a 1 year high of $76.45.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.32 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. Sell-side analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.39%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 38,790 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,709,093.60. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total transaction of $147,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $789,532 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered CMS Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.55.

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.