Foster Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Foster Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,769 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 59.0% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Brown Shipley& Co Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 279.1% during the fourth quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 652 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on BABA. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Arete Research upgraded Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $119.48 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $71.80 and a one year high of $148.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $118.11 and its 200 day moving average is $109.78. The firm has a market cap of $285.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Alibaba Group’s payout ratio is 13.83%.

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.