Stephens Consulting LLC Reduces Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Stephens Consulting LLC reduced its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 72.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,131 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Stephens Consulting LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $96,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after acquiring an additional 60,667 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the third 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised 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 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 holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in 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 valued at $409,385,000 after purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $98.68 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.92. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52 week low of $68.36 and a 52 week high of $117.82. The stock has a market cap of $234.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $115.13.

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.