Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 1.6% on Analyst Downgrade

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s stock price dropped 1.6% during trading on Wednesday after Barclays lowered their price target on the stock from $180.00 to $145.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Alibaba Group traded as low as $114.04 and last traded at $115.16. Approximately 6,436,194 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average daily volume of 20,027,513 shares. The stock had previously closed at $116.97.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BABA. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Arete Research downgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho dropped their price target on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.80.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,349,768.3% in the second quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 49,013,718 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,558,646,000 after purchasing an additional 49,010,087 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,648,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,069,144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,885,154 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 43.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,595,269 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,136,554,000 after buying an additional 2,584,480 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 85.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,557,495 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,131,558,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth about $585,479,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $276.22 billion, a PE ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a 50-day moving average of $117.03 and a 200 day moving average of $114.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a — dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

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.