Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Shares Bought by Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership

Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 18.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the quarter. Alibaba Group makes up about 0.2% of Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $246,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Primecap Management Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 18,224,982 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,412,618,000 after purchasing an additional 881,710 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,848,257 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,228,398,000 after acquiring an additional 819,019 shares during the period. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 10,630,701 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $823,986,000 after acquiring an additional 983,842 shares during the last quarter. H&H International Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.1% in the fourth quarter. H&H International Investment LLC now owns 4,959,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $384,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918,730 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth $329,367,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 8,422,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,915,266. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company’s 50 day moving average is $76.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.29. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $66.63 and a fifty-two week high of $102.50. The stock has a market cap of $197.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.33.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $30.73 billion for 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on BABA shares. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $116.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $109.19.

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.