Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Position Reduced by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 350,592 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 114,480 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $29,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $13,180,000 after purchasing an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,343,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 28,716 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,047,000 after buying an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 7,734.1% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 269,805 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,632,000 after acquiring an additional 266,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at about $115,995,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 5.7 %

Shares of NYSE:BABA traded up $7.70 during trading on Friday, hitting $143.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 73,657,797 shares, compared to its average volume of 30,282,477. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $68.36 and a fifty-two week high of $145.30. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $94.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $341.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.31.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on BABA. Mizuho raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $131.93.

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.