Ariel Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Carlyle Group Inc. $CG

Key Points

• Ariel Investments LLC reduced its stake in Carlyle Group Inc. by 1.5%, owning approximately 4.8 million shares valued at around $210.94 million as of the most recent quarter.
• Carlyle Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, leading to an annualized dividend of $1.40 and a yield of 2.2%.
• Analysts have increased their price targets for Carlyle Group, with prices now ranging from $54 to $75, reflecting a positive outlook on the company's stock performance.

Ariel Investments LLC cut its position in Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG - Free Report) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,839,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 71,523 shares during the period. Carlyle Group makes up about 2.5% of Ariel Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Ariel Investments LLC owned about 1.34% of Carlyle Group worth $210,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 10.2% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 11,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in Carlyle Group by 28.0% during the first quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 6,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 1,387 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG grew its position in Carlyle Group by 3.5% during the first quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. AG now owns 6,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Carlyle Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $10,807,000. Finally, Comerica Bank grew its position in Carlyle Group by 24.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 248,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $10,834,000 after buying an additional 48,655 shares during the period. 55.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Carlyle Group Price Performance

Carlyle Group stock traded down $1.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.75. 3,094,622 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,420,580. The company has a quick ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 2.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Carlyle Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.02 and a 12-month high of $65.97. The company has a market cap of $23.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 2.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $60.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.57.

Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. Carlyle Group's payout ratio is 40.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Carlyle Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Carlyle Group from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Carlyle Group from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Carlyle Group in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Carlyle Group from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $59.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Carlyle Group news, General Counsel Jeffrey W. Ferguson sold 202,606 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.23, for a total transaction of $13,013,383.38. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 753,255 shares in the company, valued at $48,381,568.65. The trade was a 21.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 26.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Carlyle Group Profile

The Carlyle Group Inc is an investment firm specializing in direct and fund of fund investments. Within direct investments, it specializes in management-led/ Leveraged buyouts, privatizations, divestitures, strategic minority equity investments, structured credit, global distressed and corporate opportunities, small and middle market, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, senior debt, mezzanine and leveraged finance, and venture and growth capital financings, seed/startup, early venture, emerging growth, turnaround, mid venture, late venture, PIPES.