Financial Counselors Inc. Increases Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Financial Counselors Inc. raised its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BABA. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $321,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $287,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,959,954 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $518,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 2.3 %

BABA stock opened at $132.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $121.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $102.45. The stock has a market cap of $314.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. 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 $148.43.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BABA. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.14.

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.