Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Reduces Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio decreased its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,464 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 57,900 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $17,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 811.6% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 25,644 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,174,000 after buying an additional 22,831 shares in the last quarter. JT Stratford LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. JT Stratford LLC now owns 6,838 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 27,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,289,000 after buying an additional 7,000 shares in the last quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 279.1% during the 4th quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 652 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Poehling Capital Management INC. boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. now owns 36,526 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,097,000 after acquiring an additional 8,998 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alibaba Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One equities research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE BABA opened at $120.71 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $121.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.13. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12 month low of $71.80 and a 12 month high of $148.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $287.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. Alibaba Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.83%.

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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