Ritholtz Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,534 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,097 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $3,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Generate Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth approximately $12,656,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 63.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 11,192 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 6.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 822,904 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $87,327,000 after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $28,632,000 after purchasing an additional 266,361 shares during the period. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the third quarter worth $115,995,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BABA traded up $2.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $85.16. 21,072,995 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,020,852. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $66.63 and a 1 year high of $117.82. The company's 50-day moving average is $86.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $87.59. The company has a market capitalization of $202.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The business had revenue of $236.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.28% and a net margin of 8.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 8.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BABA. Barclays lowered 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 note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $106.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Macquarie raised shares of Alibaba Group from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $145.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.13.

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.