US Bancorp DE Raises Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 47.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,018 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,752 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $3,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 63.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 266,361 shares during the period. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $115,995,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $141.19 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $68.36 and a twelve month high of $145.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $103.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.00. The firm has a market cap of $335.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $38.19 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on BABA. Bank of America lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Company 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.