Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Position Trimmed by Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. reduced its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,821 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth about $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,047,000 after purchasing an additional 11,192 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $87,327,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in 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 worth $28,632,000 after buying an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth $115,995,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.13.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $85.16 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $66.63 and a 12-month high of $117.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $86.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $87.68.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The firm had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 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.