Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group initiated coverage on Carlyle Group in a report on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Carlyle Group from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Carlyle Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Carlyle Group from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $74.00 to $71.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Carlyle Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $66.62.

Carlyle Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CG opened at $60.86 on Friday. Carlyle Group has a fifty-two week low of $33.02 and a fifty-two week high of $69.85. The company’s 50-day moving average is $56.04 and its 200 day moving average is $58.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 2.49 and a current ratio of 2.49. The company has a market capitalization of $21.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 2.04.

Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98. Carlyle Group had a net margin of 16.91% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The firm had revenue of $782.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Carlyle Group will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 19th. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Carlyle Group’s payout ratio is presently 78.21%.

Insider Transactions at Carlyle Group

In other Carlyle Group news, Director David M. Rubenstein sold 625,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.55, for a total transaction of $35,343,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,999,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,583,379,868.20. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 26.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carlyle Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CG. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 28.0% in the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Carlyle Group by 937.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,499,000 after acquiring an additional 51,809 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its stake in Carlyle Group by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 28,315 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Carlyle Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carlyle Group by 40.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,144,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,909,000 after purchasing an additional 332,533 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

About Carlyle Group

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) is a global alternative asset manager that invests across a range of strategies including private equity, real assets (such as real estate and infrastructure), global credit, and investment solutions. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Washington, DC, Carlyle raises and manages investment funds that acquire, operate and exit companies and assets on behalf of institutional and private investors. The firm is publicly traded on the Nasdaq exchange and operates as an asset manager and investment advisor rather than as an operating company.

Carlyle’s core activities include sourcing and executing private equity buyouts and growth investments, originating and managing credit and financing solutions, and acquiring and operating real asset portfolios.