Elequin Capital LP Reduces Holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Elequin Capital LP trimmed its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 423 shares during the period. Elequin Capital LP’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $95,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BABA. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Aurora Investment Managers LLC. now owns 76,486 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,485,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 13,892 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 128,015 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,855,000 after buying an additional 4,264 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,907,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,976,000. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Mizuho lowered their price target on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 16th. Loop Capital set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Friday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $125.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $298.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $71.80 and a 12-month high of $148.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $122.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.63.

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

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. This represents a yield of 0.8%. Alibaba Group’s payout ratio is 13.15%.

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.