Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Shares Acquired by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. dramatically increased its Alibaba stake in the fourth quarter, buying 5.94 million additional shares and lifting its holding to 6.01 million shares worth about $881.6 million.
• Several major Wall Street firms, including Nomura, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, HSBC, and Mizuho, raised their price targets on Alibaba, reflecting growing optimism around the company’s cloud and AI expansion.
• Alibaba’s recent results show a mixed picture: AI and cloud revenue are growing quickly, but profits remain under pressure because of heavy spending on technology and commerce initiatives.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 7,680.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 5,936,847 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned approximately 0.25% of Alibaba Group worth $881,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of BABA. ARK Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at $37,565,000. Great Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the third quarter valued at $2,207,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 14.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 30,361 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,427,000 after buying an additional 3,929 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 54,235 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,950,000 after buying an additional 5,760 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thornburg Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 14.3% during the third quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 553,384 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $98,906,000 after buying an additional 69,232 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alibaba Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms raised price targets on Alibaba, including Nomura, Morgan Stanley, Mizuho, HSBC, and JPMorgan, signaling continued confidence in the stock’s upside as analysts focus on its cloud and AI growth. Nomura adjusts Alibaba Group price target to $207
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba shares surged in Hong Kong as the company accelerated its pivot to AI, reinforcing the idea that investors are rewarding the shift toward higher-growth cloud and artificial intelligence businesses. Alibaba shares surge 7% in Hong Kong as firm accelerates pivot to AI
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage highlighted strong AI and cloud momentum, including triple-digit AI revenue growth and a 38% jump in cloud revenue, which supports the bull case that Alibaba’s heavy spending may eventually pay off. Alibaba Earnings: Cloud Acceleration Is A Bullish Catalyst
• Neutral Sentiment: The Trump-Xi summit ended with few concrete breakthroughs, but the absence of escalation is being viewed as a short-term plus for Chinese equities, including Alibaba. Trump-Xi Summit Ends With Few Breakthroughs
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba’s latest earnings report showed profits under pressure as the company ramped up AI, cloud, and commerce spending, with some analysts warning that margins may stay strained in the near term. BABA Q4 Profit Falls on Heavy Tech Spending

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. DZ Bank downgraded Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 20th. HSBC boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $172.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Nomura boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.76.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $132.53 on Friday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $103.71 and a fifty-two week high of $192.67. The business has a 50-day moving average of $131.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $149.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $317.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 10.31%.The company had revenue of $35.30 billion during the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 72.0%. Alibaba Group's payout ratio is currently 17.92%.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co‑founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high‑profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.

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