CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) Shares Sold by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS - Free Report) by 28.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,932 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in CMS Energy were worth $672,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in CMS Energy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,996 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of CMS Energy by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in CMS Energy by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 4,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in CMS Energy by 106.8% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CMS Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE:CMS traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, reaching $73.61. The stock had a trading volume of 468,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,276,318. CMS Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $58.50 and a 12-month high of $76.45. The company has a market cap of $22.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day moving average is $72.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by ($0.03). CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. CMS Energy's payout ratio is 64.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at CMS Energy

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.76, for a total value of $467,392.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,709,093.60. This represents a 6.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532 in the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on CMS shares. Morgan Stanley set a $74.00 target price on CMS Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of CMS Energy from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.25.

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.