Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,483,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 279,586 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in CMS Energy were worth $165,525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the third quarter worth $40,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 2,900.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robbins Farley bought a new stake in CMS Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Price Performance

CMS stock opened at $74.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.47 and its 200 day moving average is $69.27. CMS Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $56.61 and a 52 week high of $75.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.79.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 13.35%. Research analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. 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 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.5425 per share. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.36%.

Insider Transactions at CMS Energy

In other news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 71,931 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,306,349.87. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 represents a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,200 shares of company stock worth $789,532. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CMS. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays raised shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.36.

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.