Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) Trading 1% Higher – Time to Buy?

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABAGet Free Report)’s share price was up 1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $115.58 and last traded at $112.3030. 16,098,456 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 31% from the average session volume of 12,274,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $111.14.

More Alibaba Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alibaba Group this week:

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BABA. Susquehanna upped their target price on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Alibaba Group from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Alibaba Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $186.90.

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Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.0%

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $119.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $269.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.51.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABAGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter. Alibaba Group had a return on equity of 4.76% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. As a group, research analysts expect that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. This represents a yield of 93.0%. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alibaba Group

In other Alibaba Group news, CFO Hong Xu sold 175,054 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.15, for a total transaction of $2,126,906.10. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 280,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,408,026.40. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.95, for a total transaction of $68,364,000.00. Following the transaction, the president owned 28,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,658,600. This represents a 96.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock valued at $70,796,370. Insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alibaba Group

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 6.8% in the second quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC now owns 13,107 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 831 shares in the last quarter. Steadtrust LLC raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Steadtrust LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the period. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alibaba Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $115,000. Birchbrook Inc. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Birchbrook Inc. now owns 5,986 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. grew its holdings in Alibaba Group by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. now owns 17,777 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,706,000 after buying an additional 3,896 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

About Alibaba Group

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Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in 1999 in Hangzhou, China, by Jack Ma and a group of co?founders. The company built its business around internet-based commerce and related services and has grown into one of the largest e-commerce and technology companies in the world. Alibaba completed a high?profile initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company operates a portfolio of online marketplaces and platforms serving different customer segments: Alibaba.com for global and domestic B2B trade, Taobao for consumer-to-consumer shopping, and Tmall for brand and retailer storefronts targeted at Chinese consumers.

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