ProShare Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

ProShare Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 25.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,150 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 15,141 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $3,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 155,440 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $13,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,343,000 after buying an additional 42,446 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 268,768 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $22,789,000 after buying an additional 42,290 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BABA shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Arete Research raised Alibaba Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Loop Capital set a $176.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of BABA opened at $123.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $293.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $71.80 and a 12-month high of $148.43. The company's 50-day moving average price is $123.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $38.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. On average, sell-side 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 announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a yield of 0.8%. Alibaba Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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