Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 59,486 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 9,652 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $4,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $329,367,000. Blue Pool Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at $151,726,000. H&H International Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.1% in the 4th quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 4,959,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $384,390,000 after buying an additional 1,918,730 shares during the last quarter. Ruffer LLP grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 139.2% in the fourth quarter. Ruffer LLP now owns 3,140,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $243,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,828,019 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,610,078 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,007,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,406,491 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of several research reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on Alibaba Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Alibaba Group from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $108.79.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Alibaba Group stock traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $74.52. 14,928,681 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,079,530. The stock has a market cap of $189.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $78.29 and its 200-day moving average is $75.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $66.63 and a 12 month high of $102.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $30.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.59 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 8.44%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio is 22.84%.

About Alibaba Group

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.