Comerica Bank Buys 48,655 Shares of Carlyle Group Inc. $CG

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Carlyle Group by 24.3%, owning a total of 248,534 shares valued at approximately $10.83 million.
• Several institutional investors also made significant changes to their holdings during the first quarter, with notable increases including a 5,100% rise from Whipplewood Advisors LLC.
• Carlyle Group's shares received positive ratings from analysts, with TD Cowen upgrading to a "buy" rating and setting a price target of $56.00.

Comerica Bank boosted its position in Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG - Free Report) by 24.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,534 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 48,655 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned 0.07% of Carlyle Group worth $10,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its position in Carlyle Group by 98.8% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 2,455,963 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $124,002,000 after buying an additional 1,220,827 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Carlyle Group by 4.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,292,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,058,929,000 after buying an additional 1,131,514 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Carlyle Group by 250.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,041,816 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $52,601,000 after buying an additional 744,238 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Carlyle Group by 484.4% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 623,440 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $27,176,000 after buying an additional 516,761 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 21.7% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,722,737 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,684,000 after purchasing an additional 485,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.88% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on CG shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Carlyle Group from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, May 12th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Carlyle Group in a report on Thursday, August 14th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Carlyle Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $56.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $49.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Cowen upgraded shares of Carlyle Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Carlyle Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $59.93.

Carlyle Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CG stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.56. 1,511,473 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,862,726. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $59.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.16. Carlyle Group Inc. has a 12-month low of $33.02 and a 12-month high of $65.97. The stock has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.90. 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 Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Carlyle Group

In related news, General Counsel Jeffrey W. Ferguson sold 202,606 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 753,255 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,381,568.65. This trade represents a 21.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 26.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Carlyle Group Company 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.