Maple Brown Abbott Ltd Reduces Holdings in Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS)

Maple Brown Abbott Ltd trimmed its holdings in Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) by 68.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,082 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 61,572 shares during the period. Vipshop makes up 0.1% of Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd’s holdings in Vipshop were worth $499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VIPS. Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Vipshop during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Vipshop by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 67,731 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,203,000 after acquiring an additional 5,673 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Vipshop by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 38,052 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 1,296 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Vipshop by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 430,890 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,652,000 after purchasing an additional 137,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Vipshop by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 569,919 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,122,000 after purchasing an additional 47,825 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 48.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC dropped their target price on shares of Vipshop from $22.90 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Vipshop from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $29.00 target price on shares of Vipshop in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. StockNews.com lowered Vipshop from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Vipshop from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.13.

Vipshop Price Performance

Shares of VIPS traded down $0.38 on Wednesday, reaching $15.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,557,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,486,131. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.29. Vipshop Holdings Limited has a 12-month low of $13.80 and a 12-month high of $20.19.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $5.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $5.15. Vipshop had a net margin of 7.20% and a return on equity of 23.19%. The firm had revenue of $34.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.47 earnings per share. Vipshop’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Vipshop Holdings Limited will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Vipshop Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.43 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.3%. Vipshop’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.20%.

About Vipshop

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products.