The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) Stock Position Trimmed by SMH Capital Advisors Inc.

SMH Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 848 shares during the period. The Carlyle Group comprises about 1.8% of SMH Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. SMH Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in The Carlyle Group were worth $763,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CG. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 86,749 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,735,000 after buying an additional 17,838 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in The Carlyle Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Carlyle Group by 2,584.2% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 18,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $775,000 after acquiring an additional 17,340 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $854,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Carlyle Group by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 39,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,701,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.88% of the company’s stock.

The Carlyle Group Stock Performance

The Carlyle Group stock opened at $38.71 on Friday. The Carlyle Group Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $36.65 and a fifty-two week high of $57.50. The stock has a market cap of $13.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.92, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.73. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.54. 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 Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The financial services provider reported $0.92 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.08). The Carlyle Group had a return on equity of 24.02% and a net margin of 18.81%. As a group, analysts expect that The Carlyle Group Inc. will post 4.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. The Carlyle Group’s payout ratio is currently 50.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on CG shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com cut The Carlyle Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Oppenheimer cut shares of The Carlyle Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.53.

The Carlyle Group Company 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.