Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Stock Holdings Reduced by Meritage Portfolio Management

Key Points

• Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its stake by 2.7% in Alibaba during Q4, selling 3,611 shares to hold 131,873 shares worth $19.33M, making Alibaba about 1.3% of the fund's holdings and its ninth-largest position; overall institutional ownership is 13.47%.
• Several analysts have recently cut ratings or trimmed price targets (including Mizuho, Susquehanna, Freedom Capital, Weiss and Erste), though MarketBeat's consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $187.68.
• Alibaba opened at $140.09, trading in a 52-week range of $103.71–$192.67 with a market cap of $335.07B and a P/E of 26.43, and it reported $0.13 EPS on $40.71B revenue in the most recent quarter.

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,873 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,611 shares during the period. Alibaba Group accounts for about 1.3% of Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $19,330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 26.4% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 302 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Bluesphere Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Bluesphere Advisors LLC now owns 3,023 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 34.4% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 254 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,661 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 101.4% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 143 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Freedom Capital downgraded Alibaba Group from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Alibaba Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.68.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Alibaba Group stock opened at $140.09 on Tuesday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $103.71 and a one year high of $192.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.33 and a current ratio of 1.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $137.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.52. The company has a market cap of $335.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The specialty retailer reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 7.43% and a net margin of 9.12%.The company had revenue of $40.71 billion during the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.