AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 64,164 Shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 309,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 64,164 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of CMS Energy worth $20,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in CMS Energy by 106.8% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 813 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 price target on CMS Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $81.00 price objective (up from $77.00) on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In related news, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total transaction of $467,392.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,643 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 13,398 shares of company stock valued at $951,327. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CMS Energy Price Performance

CMS traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.23. The stock had a trading volume of 2,448,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,288,148. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $72.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.85. CMS Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $58.50 and a 1-year high of $76.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.5425 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. CMS Energy's payout ratio is currently 64.39%.

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.