Sapient Capital LLC Takes Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 112,776 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $14,912,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 40.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,411 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 981 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,478,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 7,248 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BABA shares. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $176.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $147.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Alibaba Group from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $104.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital set a $176.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.21.

Alibaba Group Trading Down 1.3%

BABA stock opened at $120.30 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $287.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.22. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $71.80 and a one year high of $148.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $117.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $110.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 1.48.

Alibaba Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a — dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 12th. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.83%.

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.