Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Takes $320,000 Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $320,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,610,078 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,007,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,491 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 11,473,618 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 992,784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $76,951,000 after purchasing an additional 21,228 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 299.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,888 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,428,000 after purchasing an additional 62,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 19.7% in the third quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd now owns 730,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $63,320,000 after purchasing an additional 120,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Macquarie cut Alibaba Group from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $88.50 to $85.40 in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Alibaba Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $109.96.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of BABA stock opened at $82.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $209.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.20. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $66.63 and a 12-month high of $102.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a $1.66 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.