Martingale Asset Management L P Takes Position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS)

Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new position in CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $274,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of CMS Energy in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in CMS Energy by 106.8% in the fourth 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. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in CMS Energy by 2,900.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Finally, Robbins Farley acquired a new stake in shares of CMS Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $62,000. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CMS Energy news, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.77, for a total transaction of $147,540.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 71,931 shares in the company, valued at $5,306,349.87. This trade represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Laura Wright sold 2,500 shares of CMS Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.84, for a total transaction of $174,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,709,093.60. This trade represents a 6.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,200 shares of company stock valued at $789,532 over the last ninety days. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

CMS Energy Stock Performance

Shares of CMS Energy stock opened at $71.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.34. CMS Energy Co. has a one year low of $56.61 and a one year high of $76.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.91 and its 200-day moving average is $69.49.

CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.01. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.35% and a return on equity of 12.02%. Equities analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CMS Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Monday, February 17th were paid a $0.5425 dividend. This represents a $2.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from CMS Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. CMS Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of CMS Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $69.00 target price on shares of CMS Energy in a report on Friday, February 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on CMS Energy from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of CMS Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CMS Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.36.

CMS Energy Company 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.