United Advisor Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

United Advisor Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 38.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,660 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,289 shares during the period. United Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Appaloosa LP raised its stake in Alibaba Group by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Appaloosa LP now owns 11,843,158 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,004,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,843,158 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at $585,479,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,676,773 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $566,124,000 after buying an additional 438,537 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,093,828 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $431,906,000 after purchasing an additional 78,757 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,610,035 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $390,885,000 after acquiring an additional 752,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on BABA shares. Mizuho dropped their target price on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $176.00 target price on Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 3.2%

Shares of NYSE BABA traded down $3.75 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.43. 11,495,432 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,966,330. 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 firm's fifty day simple moving average is $120.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.65. The company has a market cap of $270.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $71.80 and a twelve month high of $148.43.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

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

Alibaba Group Company Profile

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.