Cerity Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 299.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,888 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 62,163 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $6,428,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 322.7% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,029,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,303,636,000 after buying an additional 11,473,618 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,815,514 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,128,919,000 after buying an additional 142,563 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 461.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 4,215,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $365,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464,723 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 108,264.6% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,711,488 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,945,000 after acquiring an additional 3,708,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Alibaba Group by 65.6% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,508,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $304,318,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,233 shares during the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on BABA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Alibaba Group from $121.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Alibaba Group stock opened at $70.64 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.80. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $66.63 and a one year high of $102.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $73.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.25 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.46.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 12.65%. The firm had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $260.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.44 earnings per share. Alibaba Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.97 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.