Legal & General Group Plc Buys 176,777 Shares of Carlyle Group Inc. $CG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its Carlyle stake by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 176,777 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 3.26 million shares worth about $192.7 million.
• Carlyle’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, with EPS of $0.89 versus $0.91 expected and revenue of $750.9 million versus a $1.01 billion estimate, while revenue fell 28% year over year.
• Analysts remain cautious on the stock: several firms cut ratings or price targets, and the consensus view is currently “Hold” with an average price target of $62.00.

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,260,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 176,777 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.90% of Carlyle Group worth $192,721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Carlyle Group by 937.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 51,809 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Carlyle Group by 40.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Carlyle Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in Carlyle Group by 27.4% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Carlyle Group by 755.3% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Carlyle Group Stock Performance

NASDAQ CG opened at $45.66 on Thursday. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $48.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.72. The stock has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.89. Carlyle Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.98 and a fifty-two week high of $69.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.92, a quick ratio of 2.55 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $750.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Carlyle Group had a return on equity of 20.95% and a net margin of 13.46%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 28.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.14 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Carlyle Group Inc. will post 4.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Carlyle Group's payout ratio is currently 95.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Carlyle Group

In related news, Director David M. Rubenstein sold 500,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director owned 27,399,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,279,015,381.92. The trade was a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 26.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on CG. Cfra downgraded shares of Carlyle Group to a "sell" rating and set a $45.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Carlyle Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Carlyle Group from $67.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Carlyle Group from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Carlyle Group from $66.00 to $63.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

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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