GQG Partners LLC Invests $5.05 Million in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

GQG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 59,497 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,045,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter valued at $321,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 42,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,551,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,338 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 614 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,632,000 after acquiring an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nwam LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BABA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Alibaba Group stock opened at $134.58 on Tuesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $68.36 and a 12-month high of $148.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $319.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $117.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its 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). The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, research 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.