Comerica Bank Sells 100,098 Shares of Carlyle Group Inc. $CG

Key Points

• Comerica Bank sold 100,098 shares, cutting its Carlyle stake by 53.8% in Q4 and leaving 85,861 shares valued at about $5.08 million.
• Director David M. Rubenstein sold 500,000 shares at an average $46.68 for $23.34 million on March 19, after which insiders still own roughly 26.30% of the company.
• Major institutions such as Vanguard and State Street increased holdings (Vanguard now owns ~26.37 million shares), institutional investors hold 55.88% of the stock, and analysts carry a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of about $65.57.

Comerica Bank lessened its position in Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG - Free Report) by 53.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,861 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 100,098 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Carlyle Group were worth $5,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carlyle Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,368,246 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,558,627,000 after acquiring an additional 934,237 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Carlyle Group by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,942,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $623,372,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720,483 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Carlyle Group by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,735,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,233,000 after acquiring an additional 117,223 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Carlyle Group by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 4,037,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $253,136,000 after acquiring an additional 407,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Carlyle Group by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,769,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $142,359,000 after acquiring an additional 46,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 55.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Carlyle Group

In other news, Director David M. Rubenstein sold 500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total value of $23,340,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,399,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,279,015,381.92. The trade was a 1.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 26.30% of the company's stock.

Carlyle Group Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ:CG opened at $49.44 on Friday. Carlyle Group Inc. has a one year low of $39.48 and a one year high of $69.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 2.33 and a current ratio of 2.33. The firm has a market cap of $17.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.90. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.78.

Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.03). Carlyle Group had a net margin of 16.92% and a return on equity of 23.62%. The business had revenue of $1.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 84.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Carlyle Group Inc. will post 4.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 16th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Carlyle Group's payout ratio is currently 64.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $71.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Carlyle Group from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Carlyle Group in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Evercore set a $56.00 price target on shares of Carlyle Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Carlyle Group from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $65.57.

Carlyle Group Profile

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.

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