Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Vipshop Holdings Limited (NYSE:VIPS) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,100 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Vipshop were worth $594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Vipshop during the fourth quarter valued at $64,115,000. Polaris Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Vipshop in the 4th quarter valued at about $63,095,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Vipshop during the 3rd quarter worth about $14,938,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Vipshop by 53.8% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,597,664 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,991,000 after buying an additional 908,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC acquired a new position in shares of Vipshop in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,331,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 48.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VIPS shares. Citigroup cut shares of Vipshop from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $18.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays upped their target price on Vipshop from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Vipshop from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vipshop presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $15.30.

Vipshop Stock Down 3.2 %

VIPS stock opened at $14.85 on Friday. Vipshop Holdings Limited has a 52 week low of $11.50 and a 52 week high of $17.94. The company has a market cap of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.63.

Vipshop (NYSE:VIPS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The technology company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.70 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.82 billion. Vipshop had a return on equity of 20.89% and a net margin of 7.50%. As a group, analysts expect that Vipshop Holdings Limited will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Vipshop Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th will be issued a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This represents a yield of 2.9%. Vipshop’s payout ratio is 24.24%.

About Vipshop

Vipshop Holdings Limited operates online platforms in the People's Republic of China. It operates in Vip.com, Shan Shan Outlets, and Others segments. The company offers womenswear, menswear, sportswear and sporting goods, shoes and bags, accessories, baby and children products, skincare and cosmetics, home goods and other lifestyle products, and supermarket products.