Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,355,410 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 32,514 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Alibaba Group worth $369,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 27,088 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Asset Management LLC PA bought a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $911,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 131.2% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 74,807 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,343,000 after acquiring an additional 42,446 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 46.3% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,245 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 18,465 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BABA shares. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $117.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $100.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $150.36.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 0.4%

BABA opened at $125.32 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market cap of $299.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52 week low of $71.80 and a 52 week high of $148.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $124.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.28.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The specialty retailer reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.84 by ($0.07). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.89% and a net margin of 12.29%. The business had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.19 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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