Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Shares Acquired by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,768 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,290 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $22,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA stock opened at $132.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.70. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $68.36 and a 52-week high of $148.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. Equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on BABA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.14.

Alibaba Group 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.