The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Shares Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) by 201.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,351,432 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,244,131 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.78% of The Carlyle Group worth $320,684,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Carlyle Group by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 13,249,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $668,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,773,465 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in The Carlyle Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $83,784,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,532,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in The Carlyle Group by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,919,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $82,651,000 after purchasing an additional 777,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 33.6% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,364,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $123,673,000 after purchasing an additional 594,661 shares during the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The Carlyle Group Price Performance

The Carlyle Group stock opened at $46.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.73. The Carlyle Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $36.65 and a 1 year high of $57.50. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $48.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.62.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.08). The Carlyle Group had a return on equity of 24.02% and a net margin of 18.81%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Carlyle Group Inc. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CG. Barclays cut their price target on The Carlyle Group from $60.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of The Carlyle Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wolfe Research raised The Carlyle Group from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $60.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.53.

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.