M&T Bank Corp Reduces Holdings in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its position in shares of CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 475,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,264 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned 0.16% of CMS Energy worth $31,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CMS. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of CMS Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 106.8% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 171.9% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in CMS Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 206.1% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 701 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.57% of the company’s stock.

CMS Energy Price Performance

Shares of CMS Energy stock opened at $72.46 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.66. CMS Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $56.61 and a 12 month high of $75.06.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.5425 per share. 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. This represents a $2.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Scott B. Mcintosh sold 6,700 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,643 shares in the company, valued at $1,509,815.68. This trade represents a 23.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.22, for a total value of $134,440.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 63,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,102.34. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,950 shares of company stock worth $2,817,160. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CMS. Scotiabank increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $75.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on CMS Energy from $69.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 price target on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 7th. Six investment 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.42.

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.