Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 18.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 268,768 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 42,290 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $22,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $55,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $60,000. 13.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on BABA. Mizuho raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Arete Research upgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Alibaba Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $148.14.

Alibaba Group Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:BABA opened at $132.49 on Monday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1-year low of $68.36 and a 1-year high of $148.43. The company’s fifty day moving average is $121.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $314.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.28.

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

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.