Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) Stock Position Boosted by Scion Asset Management LLC

Scion Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 382.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 118,900 shares during the quarter. Alibaba Group makes up 16.4% of Scion Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Scion Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $12,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,974 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 99.3% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 2,931 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,465 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Alibaba Group by 13.6% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 42,534 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,606,000 after buying an additional 5,097 shares during the period. Finally, Retireful LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $123.74. 5,538,531 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,257,987. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $71.80 and a twelve month high of $148.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $122.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.63. The stock has a market cap of $295.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

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

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 12th. Alibaba Group's payout ratio is currently 13.15%.

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.