ARGA Investment Management LP Trims Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Key Points

• ARGA Investment Management trimmed its Alibaba stake by 2.5% in the first quarter, leaving it with 172,660 shares worth about $21.7 million.
• Alibaba continues to draw mixed sentiment from investors and analysts: bullish themes around AI and cloud growth are being offset by a $600 million DOJ settlement and new securities-fraud investigations.
• The stock was up 1.0% in Friday trading, while Wall Street’s consensus view remains Moderate Buy with a price target of $186.90.

ARGA Investment Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 172,660 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 4,514 shares during the period. Alibaba Group comprises approximately 0.7% of ARGA Investment Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. ARGA Investment Management LP's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $21,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Alibaba Group by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 54,235 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,950,000 after purchasing an additional 5,760 shares during the last quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Thornburg Investment Management Inc. now owns 584,028 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $85,607,000 after purchasing an additional 30,644 shares during the period. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $21,266,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 61.9% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 50,123 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,347,000 after purchasing an additional 19,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forteris Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $749,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba shares rallied after reports highlighted improving optimism around its AI and cloud businesses, including commentary that AI-driven revenue could support earnings and a re-rating of the stock. Alibaba shares jump on AI cloud market
• Positive Sentiment: News that China may allow selected firms, including Alibaba, to access Nvidia’s H200 chips could support Alibaba’s AI development and cloud infrastructure plans. Related China AI chip access report
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba also received a temporary U.S. legal reprieve from certain Pentagon-linked lobbying restrictions, easing one source of regulatory pressure in the near term. Alibaba settles DOJ case as AI rules tighten
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is updating internal AI policies in response to China’s tightening AI rules, including changes to its Qwen platform and restrictions on some third-party tools, which mainly signals compliance rather than an immediate financial impact. Alibaba settles DOJ case as AI rules tighten
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba agreed to a $600 million non-prosecution settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over historic illegal pharmaceutical sales, adding a meaningful legal overhang and potential reputational drag. Alibaba settles DOJ case as AI rules tighten
• Negative Sentiment: Investor-rights and securities-fraud law firms announced investigations into Alibaba, which can weigh on sentiment even if no wrongdoing has been proven. Howard G. Smith securities fraud investigation

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of BABA opened at $112.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $269.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.44, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.51. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52 week low of $91.99 and a 52 week high of $192.67. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $118.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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, sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.29 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.05 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a dividend yield of 93.0%. Alibaba Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Hong Xu sold 175,054 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total transaction of $2,126,906.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 280,496 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,408,026.40. The trade was a 38.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,772 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total transaction of $81,941.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 607,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,347,531.40. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Alibaba Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Argus raised shares of Alibaba Group to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Nomura decreased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $186.90.

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.