Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Shares Down 1.6%

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)’s share price traded down 1.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $77.45 and last traded at $78.39. 4,146,718 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 17,406,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $79.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on BABA shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $113.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $108.79.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $198.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $78.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.07.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $30.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $30.59 billion. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 8.44%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th were given a dividend of $1.66 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 13th. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 154.1% in the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 55,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,052,000 after acquiring an additional 33,490 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 992,784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $76,951,000 after acquiring an additional 21,228 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 299.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 82,888 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,428,000 after acquiring an additional 62,163 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 52,685.7% during the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 11,085 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 11,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,449,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

About Alibaba Group

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.