HM Payson & Co. Cuts Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

HM Payson & Co. lessened its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 381 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $86,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BABA. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.2% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 21,870,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,574,711,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,175 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $650,043,000 after buying an additional 5,715,155 shares during the last quarter. Discerene Group LP raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Discerene Group LP now owns 3,021,375 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $218,627,000 after acquiring an additional 529,237 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $296,062,000 after acquiring an additional 178,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 9.0% in the second quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 1,830,387 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $131,788,000 after purchasing an additional 150,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA opened at $97.57 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $95.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.99. The company has a market capitalization of $233.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.35. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $66.63 and a 12-month high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The specialty retailer reported $16.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $14.57. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 12.08%. The business had revenue of $243.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $248.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.47 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on BABA shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $107.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.13.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides technology infrastructure and marketing reach to help merchants, brands, retailers, and other businesses to engage with their users and customers in the People's Republic of China and internationally. The company operates through seven segments: China Commerce, International Commerce, Local Consumer Services, Cainiao, Cloud, Digital Media and Entertainment, and Innovation Initiatives and Others.