Franklin Resources Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 488,356 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 10,057 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $41,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $321,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $287,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth $508,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,680 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,043,000 after buying an additional 3,853 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 56.8% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 19,659 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 7,123 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 9.9 %

Shares of BABA opened at $116.56 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $68.36 and a one year high of $148.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $125.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $276.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its 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 for 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.