Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Stake

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,747 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 128,698 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $7,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Accredited Investors Inc. boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 2,858 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 30,421 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,952,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Hardin Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,945 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $670,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 1.0% during the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 10,851 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Alliance LLC boosted its position in Alibaba Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Alliance LLC now owns 8,510 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alibaba Group

In other news, General Counsel Siying Yu sold 6,764 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction on Friday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.58, for a total transaction of $91,855.12. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 613,965 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,337,644.70. The trade was a 1.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Joseph C. Tsai bought 720,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $14.29 per share, for a total transaction of $10,288,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 114,979,168 shares in the company, valued at $1,643,052,310.72. This trade represents a 0.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 999,971 shares of company stock worth $13,563,304 in the last three months. 12.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Alibaba Group Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of BABA stock traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $109.24. 9,546,798 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,576,816. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 1 year low of $91.99 and a 1 year high of $181.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The stock has a market cap of $271.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $108.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.04.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 14th. The specialty retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.94 by ($0.68). The company had revenue of $39.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.52 billion. Alibaba Group had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 4.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $14.75 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 5.76 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BABA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $164.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 21st. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Alibaba Group to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 12th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Alibaba Group in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alibaba Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $182.89.

About Alibaba Group

Alibaba Group Holding Limited is a technology and commerce company founded in 1999 and headquartered in Hangzhou, China. It operates digital platforms that connect consumers, merchants, businesses and other participants in commerce.

Its businesses include China-focused marketplaces such as Taobao and Tmall, international platforms including AliExpress and Alibaba.com, and Alibaba Cloud, which provides cloud computing and related technology services. The group also has operations in areas such as logistics, local services and digital media.

Alibaba serves customers and businesses in China and across international markets.