Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 16,229 Shares of Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS)

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,057,847 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 16,229 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Vipshop worth $17,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VIPS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Vipshop in the 4th quarter worth about $70,333,000. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Vipshop by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 10,911,703 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $193,792,000 after buying an additional 2,593,670 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Vipshop by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,394,122 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $184,600,000 after purchasing an additional 2,273,198 shares in the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Vipshop by 291.1% in the fourth quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,788,026 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,330,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Vipshop by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,513,926 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $240,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on VIPS. StockNews.com cut Vipshop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 13th. Citigroup cut their price target on Vipshop from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Vipshop from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.67.

Vipshop Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of VIPS opened at $13.65 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a PE ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 0.32. Vipshop Holdings Limited has a 52-week low of $12.94 and a 52-week high of $20.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $14.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $15.94.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 22nd. The technology company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.06. Vipshop had a return on equity of 23.74% and a net margin of 7.60%. The company had revenue of $3.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.87 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Vipshop Holdings Limited will post 2.16 earnings per share for the current year.

About Vipshop

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear and sporting goods, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products.