Investing

Carlyle Group's Latest Trades Are Out. Here Are the Asset Manager's Largest Listed Portfolio Movement

Ben Ward

Published: February 13, 2023 10:38 pm

This week, alternative asset management and private equity behemoth Carlyle Group Inc reported its latest trades for the December quarter.

The institution was founded in 1987 and currently operates 29 offices across 5 continents and aims to drive positive change from embedded impact across their investment process.

The global fund which specializes in private equity, real assets and private credit also holds a range of listed equity positions which are highlighted in the article below.

According to the most recent 13F filing released on Friday, the asset manager held 13 positions on the 31st of December 2022 with a total value of $3.5 billion.

So, what stocks did Carlyle hold at the close of 2022?

The Fintel platform’s hedge fund data unveils the most significant positions and recent trades that have been reported to the SEC.

Top fund increases during the quarter:

Offshore energy equipment and services provider SEACOR Marine Holdings (US:SMHI) had the fifth largest portfolio allocation increase of 0.08% during the quarter to 0.29%. Carlyle holds 1,196,649 shares worth $12.39 million.

SMHI’s share price has risen 149% over the past year as the company has benefitted from higher energy price tailwinds which have boosted spending and growth in the sector.

Diagnostic healthcare products provider QuidelOrtho Corp (US:QDEL) had the second largest portfolio allocation increase of 0.44% to 28.72%. The fund currently holds 12,460,183 shares worth $1,08 billion.

QDEL’s share price has declined -6.4% over the past year with the stock currently trading on a 5.15x PE ratio. QuidelOrtho in January provided fourth quarter revenue guidance to the market of $853 to $868 million and brought full year sales guidance to $4.04 to $4.05 billion for the year. The sales figures were slightly ahead of market expectations.

The fund’s third largest portfolio allocation increase was in American-British visual media company Getty Images Holdings (US:GETY) with the purchase of 11,902,817 shares equating to a 1.78% allocation.

GETY was initially listed on the NYSE in July 2022 via a SPAC merger with Neuberger’s Principal Holdings fund. The stock rallied significantly after listing but crashed shortly after and now has losses of -31% since listing.

The second largest portfolio allocation increase was by a new stock purchase in Chinese data center provider GDS Holdings Limited (US:GDS) with a 2.10% allocation. The fund acquired 3,777,424 shares with the position currently worth $85.1 million.

GDS is trading around -80% below the stocks peak in early 2021 but has recovered some losses with the markets relief rally since November 2022. For the full year GDS has guided sales of 9.25 to 9.40 billion yuan with adjusted EBITDA in the range of 4.20 to 4.28 billion yuan representing a margin of almost 50%.

Carlyles largest portfolio allocation increase during the quarter was in semiconductor component manufacturer MKS Instruments (US:MKSI) with a 10.4% increase in portfolio allocation to 19.34%. The fund holds 8,482,732 shares worth $855.40 million.

MKSI’s shares have fallen -30.7% over the last year as the semiconductor industry has seen weakening demand from highs from during the pandemic. Earlier this week, MKS announced that it was subject to a ransomware cyber attack which has disrupted company operations. Full impacts from the attack are yet to be determined.

Top fund decreases during the quarter:

The fifth largest decrease in the fund’s listed portfolio during the quarter was in self-storage company CubeSmart (US:CUBE) with a minor -0.04% reduction in the portfolio’s allocation to 0.24%. Carlyle holds 220,500 shares worth around $10.07 million based on recent closing prices.

CUBE increased its quarterly dividend rate to 49 cents from 43 cents back in December and currently has a 4.3% annualized dividend yield.

The fourth largest decrease for the fund was in self storage company Life Storage Inc (US:LSI). While the fund did not make any sales in the stock, the portfolio allocation decreased by -0.07% to a 0.23% weight during the quarter. Carlyle holds 86,000 shares worth $10.59 million.

On Monday, LSI announced that it had received a takeover proposal from Public Storage (US:PSA) offering Life Storage holders 0.4192 PSA shares for each LSI share held.

The fund’s portfolio allocation in market-making financial services company Vitru Ltd (US:VTRU) decreased by -0.38% during the quarter to 3.78% of the listed portfolio. The fund holds 6,246,471 shares worth $128.86 million.

Carlyles portfolio allocation in San Francisco-based healthcare clinic provider 1life Healthcare Inc (US:ONEM) declined by -1.29% over the quarter to 6.12%. The fund holds 13,612,681 shares worth $205.28 million.

ONEM has traded sideways since July 2022 when the company received a takeover offer from Amazon at $18 per share.

The most significant decrease in Carlyle’s portfolio allocation was in software and data company ZoomInfo Technologies Inc (US:ZI). The fund’s portfolio allocation decreased by -20.6% to 29.70% of the listed portfolio after the asset manager sold 1,358,946 shares during the quarter.

ZI’s shares have declined -53.4% over the past year, driven by valuation concerns in the interest rate rising environment. Earlier this week, the stock reported fourth quarter results with revenue and underlying EPS marginally ahead of forecasts. The company provided full year guidance for 2023 that was relatively in line with street expectations.

Recent trades post quarter:

Since the quarter’s end, Carlyle has been active with several trades over January and February. These included:

• A new 35.8% stake in Vertical Capital Income Fund (US:VCIF)
• A 55% increase in shares held in JASPER THERAPEUTICS to 8% ownership
• A new 2.6% stake in Vaxcyte Inc (US:PCVX)
• A further -17% reduction in shares held in Zoominfo Technologies (US:ZI)
• A new 5.5% stake in HilleVax Inc (US:HLVX)

This article originally appeared on Fintel