Matthews International Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,830 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA)

Matthews International Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 2.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,036 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,830 shares during the quarter. Alibaba Group accounts for 1.0% of Matthews International Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Matthews International Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $4,923,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BABA. Mcdonald Partners LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 7,431 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 859 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 94.1% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $110,000 after buying an additional 740 shares during the period. ARGA Investment Management LP increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 3,582,005 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $259,194,000 after buying an additional 1,009,397 shares during the period. DLK Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Alibaba Group by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,899 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Lion Street Advisors LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Lion Street Advisors LLC now owns 11,308 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on BABA. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Alibaba Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $124.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.79.

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BABA traded up $0.37 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.16. 7,001,711 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 17,914,697. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $188.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.46 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $78.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.00. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 52-week low of $66.63 and a 52-week high of $102.50.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $30.59 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 12.70%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.96 EPS for the current year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a None dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a $1.66 dividend. This represents a yield of 3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Alibaba Group’s payout ratio is presently 22.84%.

Alibaba Group 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.