Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of The Carlyle Group Put Options (NASDAQ:CG)

The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 8,572 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 322% compared to the average volume of 2,031 put options.

The Carlyle Group Price Performance

CG traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $44.08. 2,713,381 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,312,209. The stock has a market cap of $15.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.27, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $45.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.01. The Carlyle Group has a fifty-two week low of $25.20 and a fifty-two week high of $48.52.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.08. The Carlyle Group had a positive return on equity of 19.74% and a negative net margin of 20.53%. The company had revenue of $896.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $860.68 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.01 EPS. The Carlyle Group's revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Carlyle Group will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 23rd were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 22nd. The Carlyle Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -82.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CG shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $34.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet cut shares of The Carlyle Group from a "b-" rating to a "c" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of The Carlyle Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $42.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of The Carlyle Group from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.07.

Insider Transactions at The Carlyle Group

In other The Carlyle Group news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. purchased 190,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $12.95 per share, with a total value of $2,460,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 1,066,189 shares in the company, valued at $13,807,147.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 27.00% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On The Carlyle Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in The Carlyle Group by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,876,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,012,212,000 after buying an additional 1,756,189 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in The Carlyle Group by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 24,697,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $736,980,000 after buying an additional 2,514,895 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in The Carlyle Group by 39.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 18,573,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $576,900,000 after buying an additional 5,223,114 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in The Carlyle Group by 65.9% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 8,877,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $267,743,000 after buying an additional 3,524,794 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC lifted its stake in The Carlyle Group by 16.9% in the third quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 6,364,528 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $191,954,000 after buying an additional 918,114 shares during the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About The 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.