Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 992,784 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 21,228 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $76,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,610,078 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,007,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,406,491 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 322.7% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 15,029,238 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,303,636,000 after purchasing an additional 11,473,618 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 299.9% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,888 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,428,000 after purchasing an additional 62,163 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 122.2% in the third quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 113,704 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $9,863,000 after purchasing an additional 62,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 19.7% in the third quarter. Taikang Asset Management Hong Kong Co Ltd now owns 730,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $63,320,000 after purchasing an additional 120,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Mizuho reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Alibaba Group from $126.00 to $124.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 19th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $112.91.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alibaba Group stock traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $75.55. The company had a trading volume of 14,216,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,622,653. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $66.63 and a one year high of $102.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm has a market cap of $191.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.94 and a beta of 0.46.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $18.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $19.12 by ($0.15). Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.65% and a net margin of 10.75%. The company had revenue of $260.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $260.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.44 earnings per share. Alibaba Group's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.