Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading Up 3.2% – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) was up 3.2% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $132.57 and last traded at $132.50. Approximately 9,245,596 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 23% from the average session volume of 11,961,699 shares. The stock had previously closed at $128.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC set a $170.00 price objective on Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Nomura lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Alibaba Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alibaba Group currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.90.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 3.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $317.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $112.88 and its 200-day moving average is $131.21.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 4.76%. The company had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a yield of 93.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.91%.

Insider Transactions at Alibaba Group

In other news, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,772 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total transaction of $81,941.20. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 607,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,347,531.40. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Fan (Fj) Jiang sold 13,579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total value of $164,305.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 556,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,735,065.70. This trade represents a 2.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital World Investors raised its position in Alibaba Group by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,505,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $953,527,000 after purchasing an additional 466,847 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $881,554,000 after buying an additional 5,936,847 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,335,894 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $782,135,000 after buying an additional 42,297 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $594,477,000. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,206,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $276,844,000 after acquiring an additional 86,613 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co‑founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high‑profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.