Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Cuts Position in Carlyle Group Inc. $CG

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in Carlyle Group by 22.0% in Q4, selling 26,295 shares and ending the quarter with 93,300 shares valued at $5.517 million.
• Director David M. Rubenstein sold 500,000 Carlyle shares on March 19 at about $46.68 for $23.34 million, but still holds roughly 27.4 million shares; insiders own 26.30% of the company.
• Wall Street’s consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $65.57, while the stock trades near $49.44 (12‑month range $39.48–$69.85) and yields about 2.8%.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG - Free Report) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 93,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,295 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA's holdings in Carlyle Group were worth $5,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CG. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Carlyle Group by 937.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 57,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,499,000 after purchasing an additional 51,809 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Carlyle Group by 40.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,144,974 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $49,909,000 after purchasing an additional 332,533 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Carlyle Group by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 48,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,579 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in Carlyle Group by 27.4% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Carlyle Group by 755.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 650 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.88% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Carlyle Group news, Director David M. Rubenstein sold 500,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $23,340,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,399,644 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,279,015,381.92. This represents a 1.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 26.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CG has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Carlyle Group from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Carlyle Group from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Carlyle Group in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Evercore set a $56.00 target price on shares of Carlyle Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Carlyle Group from $81.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.57.

Carlyle Group Price Performance

Shares of Carlyle Group stock opened at $49.44 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $17.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.89. The company's 50 day moving average is $49.02 and its 200 day moving average is $54.72. Carlyle Group Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.48 and a twelve month high of $69.85. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

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

Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

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

About Carlyle Group

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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