Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Takes Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,739 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after purchasing an additional 60,667 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 1,392.6% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,125,542 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $650,043,000 after buying an additional 5,715,155 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $98.68. 29,085,394 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,559,988. The stock has a market cap of $234.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $86.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.92. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $68.36 and a 12 month high of $117.82.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. Alibaba Group's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 14th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Macquarie raised Alibaba Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.13.

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.