The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Shares of The Carlyle Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CG) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $54.74 and last traded at $54.35, with a volume of 71232 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $43.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of The Carlyle Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of The Carlyle Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of The Carlyle Group from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.33.

The Carlyle Group Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 2.32 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock has a market cap of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 185.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.70. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.03.

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:CG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $895.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.87 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that The Carlyle Group Inc. will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The Carlyle Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. The Carlyle Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 482.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at The Carlyle Group

In related news, Director Daniel A. D’aniello sold 495,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total value of $25,535,279.26. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,504,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,674,936,376.06. This 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Carlyle Group Inc. sold 924,466 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.14, for a total transaction of $1,978,357.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 3,643,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,796,514.34. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,171,556 shares of company stock valued at $29,222,475 over the last three months. 27.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $109,122,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 17,468.6% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,715,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,887,000 after buying an additional 1,705,982 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of The Carlyle Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,009,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of The Carlyle Group by 89.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 764,765 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,269,000 after buying an additional 360,729 shares in the last quarter. 55.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.