Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Takes $261,000 Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,075 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $650,043,000 after purchasing an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Hhlr Advisors LTD. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 9,205.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,697,358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,801,240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,679,117 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BABA opened at $85.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $86.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.68. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $117.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Company Profile

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.