Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 16.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 392,427 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 79,540 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $33,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 3,740,150 shares during the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $936,785,000 after purchasing an additional 3,448,152 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Appaloosa LP increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aspex Management HK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $115,995,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $140.99 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $110.73 and a 200-day moving average of $98.85. The firm has a market cap of $334.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $68.36 and a twelve month high of $145.36. 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 (NYSE:BABA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.84 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Arete Research raised shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Alibaba Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group 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.