Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 49,688 Shares of CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS)

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. has reduced its stake in CMS Energy Corporation by 78.9%, selling 49,688 shares and now holding 13,265 shares valued at approximately $996,000.
• Recent brokerages' evaluations have resulted in varied price target adjustments for CMS Energy, with Barclays raising its target from $77.00 to $78.00, while Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a "hold" to a "sell" rating.
• CMS Energy announced a **quarterly dividend** of $0.5425 per share, indicating a 3.0% dividend yield and a **payout ratio** of 64.20% as of the latest reporting period.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its position in shares of CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 78.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,265 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 49,688 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 39.2% during the fourth 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. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $72,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $75,000. Grove Bank & Trust increased its holdings in CMS Energy by 167.3% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 1,072 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CMS Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $82,000. 93.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CMS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $81.00 target price (up from $77.00) on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CMS Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $71.00 target price on CMS Energy and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CMS Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $77.25.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CMS traded down $0.34 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.25. 2,491,515 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,276,168. CMS Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $63.97 and a 52-week high of $76.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.21 and a 200-day moving average of $71.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.36.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.07% and a net margin of 12.76%. The company had revenue of $1.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that CMS Energy Corporation 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, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be paid a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.62, for a total value of $147,240.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 68,036 shares in the company, valued at $5,008,810.32. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.40% 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.