Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Purchases 51,000 Shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 24.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 259,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,000 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $32,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BABA. Hoey Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Alibaba Group by 95.2% in the 1st quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. now owns 205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Palladiem LLC purchased a new position in Alibaba Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in Alibaba Group by 15,000.0% during the first quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 302 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 13.47% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Price Performance

Shares of BABA opened at $112.30 on Monday. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a twelve month low of $91.99 and a twelve month high of $192.67. The company has a market capitalization of $269.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.89 and a 200 day moving average of $136.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The specialty retailer reported $0.01 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts anticipate that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.05 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 93.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. Alibaba Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 16.91%.

Key Headlines Impacting Alibaba Group

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba shares rallied after reports highlighted improving optimism around its AI and cloud businesses, including commentary that AI-driven revenue could support earnings and a re-rating of the stock. Alibaba shares jump on AI cloud market
• Positive Sentiment: News that China may allow selected firms, including Alibaba, to access Nvidia’s H200 chips could support Alibaba’s AI development and cloud infrastructure plans. Related China AI chip access report
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba also received a temporary U.S. legal reprieve from certain Pentagon-linked lobbying restrictions, easing one source of regulatory pressure in the near term. Alibaba settles DOJ case as AI rules tighten
• Neutral Sentiment: The company is updating internal AI policies in response to China’s tightening AI rules, including changes to its Qwen platform and restrictions on some third-party tools, which mainly signals compliance rather than an immediate financial impact. Alibaba settles DOJ case as AI rules tighten
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba agreed to a $600 million non-prosecution settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over historic illegal pharmaceutical sales, adding a meaningful legal overhang and potential reputational drag. Alibaba settles DOJ case as AI rules tighten
• Negative Sentiment: Investor-rights and securities-fraud law firms announced investigations into Alibaba, which can weigh on sentiment even if no wrongdoing has been proven. Howard G. Smith securities fraud investigation

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Hong Xu sold 175,054 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Fang Jiang sold 4,898 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total value of $59,216.82. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,559,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,214,487.99. The trade was a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 920,303 shares of company stock valued at $70,796,370. Corporate insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BABA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. HSBC set a $170.00 price target on Alibaba Group in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna upped their price target on Alibaba Group from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Alibaba Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Alibaba Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alibaba Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.90.

About Alibaba Group

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.