Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Takes Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 18,450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,564,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 155.0% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 255 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 225.4% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 4.3 %

BABA opened at $124.73 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $296.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $91.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $68.36 and a twelve month high of $126.80.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 15th. The specialty retailer reported $15.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $13.19. The company had revenue of $236.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.45 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on BABA. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $137.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $118.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $88.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $115.86.

Alibaba Group 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.