Means Investment CO. Inc. Reduces Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Means Investment CO. Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 21,576 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 312 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,829,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Concord Wealth Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 155.0% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 225.4% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on BABA shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Mizuho upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $98.65 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $86.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.30. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $68.36 and a 12-month high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

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.