Aureus Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Aureus Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 511.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,361 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,829 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $1,174,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $881,554,000 after purchasing an additional 5,936,847 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter valued at $594,477,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $160,410,000. Third Point LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 4th quarter valued at $120,928,000. Finally, Bbfit Investments PTE Ltd. acquired a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter worth about $106,828,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.95, for a total transaction of $68,364,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,658,600. The trade was a 96.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,772 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.10, for a total transaction of $81,941.20. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 607,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,347,531.40. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock worth $70,796,370. 12.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BABA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Nomura reduced their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $207.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $186.90.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of Alibaba Group stock opened at $116.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.28. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a one year low of $91.99 and a one year high of $192.67. The company has a market cap of $279.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.51.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 10.31% and a return on equity of 4.76%. The firm had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $1.05 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 93.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 16.91%.

Key Stories Impacting Alibaba Group

Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba is being credited for steady progress in AI, with commentary pointing to continued investment in cloud and AI infrastructure as a key long-term growth driver. Alibaba’s (BABA) AI Progress Deserves Credit
• Positive Sentiment: Ant International, in which Alibaba holds an economic interest, raised about $1.2 billion to expand cross-border payments and AI-enabled commerce solutions, underscoring momentum in Alibaba-linked fintech and digital payments. Ant International Raises approx. US$1.2 billion…
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage suggesting Alibaba may benefit from broader enthusiasm around Chinese AI leaders could improve investor sentiment toward the stock, especially as the company scales its AI efforts. AI startup Moonshot just launched…
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba set August 5 as the record date for its virtual AGM and ADS voting, a routine corporate action with limited immediate operational impact. Alibaba Sets August Record Date…
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple law firms have launched investor investigations into Alibaba, with allegations of potentially misleading disclosures; that kind of headline can weigh on the shares even before any formal action is taken. INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates…
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Fliggy is cutting jobs amid Alibaba restructuring and tougher online travel competition add to concerns about operational pressure in some business lines. Fliggy cuts jobs amid Alibaba restructuring…

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co‑founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high‑profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.