Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 268,768 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 42,290 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $22,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Appaloosa LP lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,004,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,843,158 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth about $585,479,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $431,906,000 after purchasing an additional 78,757 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $383,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,959,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, North of South Capital LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. North of South Capital LLP now owns 1,975,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $167,525,000 after buying an additional 300,432 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE BABA traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $129.33. 18,444,998 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 27,910,766. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $307.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $68.36 and a 12-month high of $148.43.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 12.29% and a return on equity of 12.89%. As a group, analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark increased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.14.

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.