Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 18,460,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,959,021,000 after buying an additional 60,667 shares in the last quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 64.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hhlr Advisors LTD. now owns 8,827,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $936,785,000 after buying an additional 3,448,152 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 3,180.1% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,857,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $409,385,000 after buying an additional 3,740,150 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 454.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,611,571 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $383,260,000 after buying an additional 2,959,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in Alibaba Group by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 2,789,883 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $296,062,000 after purchasing an additional 178,999 shares in the last quarter. 13.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $125.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho boosted their price target on Alibaba Group from $92.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.93.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE BABA opened at $143.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $341.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $95.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.88. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a fifty-two week low of $68.36 and a fifty-two week high of $145.30.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $38.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.19 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 12.28%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 7.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Company 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.