Carlyle Group Inc. $CG Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. reduced its stake in Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG - Free Report) by 27.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,376 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Carlyle Group were worth $728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,219 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 5,147 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 101.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 636 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. American Trust now owns 5,320 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,664 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $437,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares during the period. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Carlyle Group

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

Carlyle Group Stock Down 0.9%

CG stock traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $63.27. 590,519 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,824,833. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 2.24 and a current ratio of 2.24. Carlyle Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.02 and a 1-year high of $65.97. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.34. The company has a market cap of $22.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.90.

Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Carlyle Group's payout ratio is presently 40.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on CG. Cowen raised shares of Carlyle Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $74.00 price target (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Carlyle Group in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $54.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $45.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.60.

About Carlyle Group

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.