Legal & General Group Plc Cuts Position in Baidu, Inc. $BIDU

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 272,511 shares of the information services provider’s stock after selling 20,532 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.08% of Baidu worth $35,606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new position in shares of Baidu in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Baidu by 65.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 340 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Baidu by 12,400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 375 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Sycomore Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Baidu in the 3rd quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in shares of Baidu in the 3rd quarter valued at $80,000.

Baidu Stock Up 2.5%

Baidu stock opened at $135.31 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,127.49, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.53. Baidu, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.17 and a 1-year high of $165.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $124.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BIDU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Nomura lifted their price target on Baidu from $186.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Baidu from $147.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research cut Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. China Renaissance raised Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $134.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their price objective on Baidu from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Baidu presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.58.

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Beijing, is a Chinese multinational technology company best known for operating one of China’s leading internet search engines. The company built its business around online search and related advertising services, providing search, content aggregation and targeted ad placements to consumers and marketers across China. Baidu went public on the NASDAQ in 2005 and has since diversified beyond search into a broader technology and AI-focused portfolio.

Core products and services include the Baidu search platform and mobile app, Baidu Maps and Baidu Baike (an online encyclopedia), along with digital content initiatives.