Hardin Capital Partners LLC Acquires 247 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Hardin Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,794 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 247 shares during the quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. TRUE Private Wealth Advisors now owns 3,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. TBH Global Asset Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,709 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BABA shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. 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 report on Monday, February 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $104.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Benchmark increased their target price on Alibaba Group from $118.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $144.07.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

BABA stock opened at $132.65 on Wednesday. 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 $315.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $118.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.64. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $68.36 and a 12-month high of $148.43.

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