Argent Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG)

Argent Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,069,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 15,003 shares during the quarter. The Carlyle Group comprises approximately 2.4% of Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Argent Capital Management LLC owned 0.58% of The Carlyle Group worth $83,100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $1,012,212,000 after buying an additional 1,756,189 shares during the last quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in The Carlyle Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,631,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 4,693.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 794,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $32,326,000 after purchasing an additional 777,863 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of The Carlyle Group by 58.8% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 404,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,953,000 after purchasing an additional 149,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 40.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 448,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,267,000 after buying an additional 129,390 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 24,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.09, for a total transaction of $733,895.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,141,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $335,250,142.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 2,261,559 shares of company stock valued at $82,700,460 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 27.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of The Carlyle Group from $49.00 to $44.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $54.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of The Carlyle Group from $45.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, The Carlyle Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $45.43.

The Carlyle Group Price Performance

Shares of CG traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.25. 3,731,803 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,302,179. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.66. The Carlyle Group Inc. has a 52-week low of $27.13 and a 52-week high of $50.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 2.53 and a current ratio of 2.53. The company has a market cap of $14.49 billion, a PE ratio of -22.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.75.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.05). The Carlyle Group had a negative net margin of 23.04% and a positive return on equity of 23.92%. The business had revenue of $1.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $808.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 131.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Carlyle Group Inc. will post 3.87 earnings per share for the current year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. The Carlyle Group’s payout ratio is -78.21%.

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.