Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1.3% Higher

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) shot up 1.3% on Friday . The company traded as high as $81.01 and last traded at $79.57. 7,997,575 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 17,450,955 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $109.00 to $107.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Alibaba Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Alibaba Group from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 15th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $99.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.79.

Alibaba Group Trading Up 1.6 %

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 stock has a market capitalization of $202.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.06.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by $0.13. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 8.44%. The business had revenue of $30.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $30.59 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Alibaba Group by 8.8% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 22,946 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $352,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alibaba Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 51.1% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 121,290 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,521,000 after buying an additional 41,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WNY Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Alibaba Group by 6.0% during the third quarter. WNY Asset Management LLC now owns 5,668 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $492,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

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.