Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Stock Price Up 1.7% - Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $117.36 and last traded at $117.65. 4,869,128 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 20,033,154 shares. The stock had previously closed at $115.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BABA. Benchmark dropped their price objective 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 decreased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Loop Capital set a $176.00 price objective on Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $150.80.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $279.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $117.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $114.96.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. Alibaba Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.75%.

Institutional Trading of Alibaba Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1,349,768.3% during the 2nd quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC now owns 49,013,718 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,558,646,000 after purchasing an additional 49,010,087 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 22.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,648,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,069,144,000 after buying an additional 2,885,154 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 43.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,595,269 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,136,554,000 after buying an additional 2,584,480 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 85.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,557,495 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,131,558,000 after acquiring an additional 3,947,460 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $585,479,000. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

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.

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