Platinum Investment Management Ltd. Sells 71,987 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Platinum Investment Management Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 791,620 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 71,987 shares during the quarter. Alibaba Group makes up about 2.7% of Platinum Investment Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Platinum Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $68,665,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Shipley& Co Ltd now owns 6,565 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 116.7% in the 3rd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 325 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 69.1% in the 2nd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. 14.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Alibaba Group from $151.00 to $147.00 in a research note on Monday, October 9th. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $150.00 to $128.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $142.00 to $136.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Alibaba Group stock opened at $69.42 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $176.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.61 and a beta of 0.56. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52 week low of $66.92 and a 52 week high of $121.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 1.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.90 and a 200-day moving average of $84.17.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 16th. The specialty retailer reported $15.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $15.28 by $0.35. The business had revenue of $224.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $224.48 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.83% and a net margin of 14.49%. Alibaba Group's quarterly revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 21st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 20th. Alibaba Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 13.57%.

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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