Aviva PLC Decreases Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Aviva PLC decreased its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 415,116 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 47,249 shares during the period. Aviva PLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $35,198,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter worth $585,479,000. Appaloosa LP boosted its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 364.4% during the fourth quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd now owns 634,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $53,774,000 after acquiring an additional 497,623 shares during the last quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,175,000. Finally, Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,820,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BABA shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of Alibaba Group stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $104.77. The stock had a trading volume of 22,209,862 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,306,298. The stock's 50 day moving average is $126.38 and its 200 day moving average is $104.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $68.36 and a twelve month high of $148.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

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

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.