Benjamin Edwards Inc. Raises Stake in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) by 2,584.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,340 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in The Carlyle Group were worth $775,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 4,937,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $198,250,000 after acquiring an additional 54,805 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Carlyle Group by 72.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,051,757 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $174,469,000 after buying an additional 1,707,520 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,727,870 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $109,524,000 after buying an additional 55,662 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in The Carlyle Group by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,266,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $90,999,000 after buying an additional 137,541 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 22.8% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,107,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $90,740,000 after acquiring an additional 391,553 shares in the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Carlyle Group Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CG opened at $52.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 182.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $50.32 and its 200 day moving average is $44.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38. The Carlyle Group Inc. has a 1-year low of $35.36 and a 1-year high of $55.11.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $895.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $908.17 million. The Carlyle Group had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 24.91%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Carlyle Group Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 482.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on The Carlyle Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on The Carlyle Group from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of The Carlyle Group from $43.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of The Carlyle Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, The Carlyle Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.33.

Insider Activity at The Carlyle Group

In related news, Director Daniel A. D’aniello sold 495,542 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total value of $25,535,279.26. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 32,504,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,674,936,376.06. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 133,643 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.51, for a total value of $335,443.93. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 4,767,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,966,919.47. The trade was a 2.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,171,556 shares of company stock worth $29,222,475 in the last ninety days. 27.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

The Carlyle Group 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.