New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in The Carlyle Group were worth $8,760,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in The Carlyle Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Carlyle Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 80,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,081,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. DMC Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. DMC Group LLC now owns 6,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in The Carlyle Group by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 58,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,959,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its position in The Carlyle Group by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 3,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $141,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

The Carlyle Group Price Performance

NASDAQ:CG opened at $48.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $52.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $48.78. The Carlyle Group Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.65 and a 12 month high of $57.50. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of The Carlyle Group from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on The Carlyle Group from $56.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of The Carlyle Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.93.

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.