Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Position in CMS Energy Corporation $CMS

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in CMS Energy by 2.1% in Q3, selling 61,642 shares and holding 2,835,632 shares valued at $207,738,000 (about 0.93% of the company).
• Analyst coverage is broadly positive with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.38, while individual targets range from the mid-$70s up to $83.
• CMS increased its quarterly dividend to $0.57 (annualized $2.28, ~3.0% yield), and insiders were active—Director John G. Russell sold 14,914 shares (~$1.13M) while Director Diane Leopold purchased 2,000 shares.

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in CMS Energy Corporation (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,835,632 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 61,642 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.93% of CMS Energy worth $207,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. HM Payson & Co. increased its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 65.6% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 356 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in CMS Energy by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,562 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Tobam boosted its stake in CMS Energy by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Tobam now owns 559 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its position in CMS Energy by 52.0% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 424 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in CMS Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 12,680 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $929,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $80.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho upped their target price on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on CMS Energy from $79.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $79.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John G. Russell sold 14,914 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.75, for a total transaction of $1,129,735.50. Following the sale, the director directly owned 131,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,966,276. This trade represents a 10.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane Leopold purchased 2,000 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.70 per share, with a total value of $153,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,769 shares of the company's stock, valued at $212,382.30. This represents a 260.08% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,664 shares of company stock worth $1,579,506. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

CMS Energy Stock Up 1.2%

CMS stock opened at $76.76 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $73.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.75. The company has a market capitalization of $23.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.76. CMS Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $67.71 and a 12 month high of $78.47.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. CMS Energy had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. CMS Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.830-3.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CMS Energy Corporation will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from CMS Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. CMS Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.59%.

CMS Energy Company Profile

CMS Energy NYSE: CMS is an energy company based in Jackson, Michigan, whose principal business is the regulated utility operations of its subsidiary, Consumers Energy. The company is primarily focused on providing electric and natural gas service to customers in Michigan, operating the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure necessary to deliver energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Jackson, CMS Energy conducts its core activities within the state and is regulated by state utility authorities.

Through Consumers Energy and related subsidiaries, CMS Energy develops, owns and operates a portfolio of generation assets and delivers a range of customer-facing services, including electricity and natural gas supply, grid management, energy efficiency programs and demand-response offerings.

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