Blair William & Co. IL Sells 5,333 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Blair William & Co. IL lessened its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 88,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,333 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $7,546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

BABA stock opened at $132.49 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.58. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1-year low of $68.36 and a 1-year high of $148.43. The firm has a market cap of $314.80 billion, a PE ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on BABA shares. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target 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.