Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC Raises Position in Alibaba Group Holding Limited $BABA

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA) by 7.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 115,896 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,082 shares during the quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Alibaba Group were worth $14,540,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Alibaba Group by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,505,165 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $953,527,000 after purchasing an additional 466,847 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Alibaba Group by 7,680.3% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,014,147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $881,554,000 after buying an additional 5,936,847 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Alibaba Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 5,335,894 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $782,135,000 after buying an additional 42,297 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Alibaba Group in the fourth quarter worth about $594,477,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Alibaba Group by 8.9% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,028,659 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $362,582,000 after buying an additional 166,134 shares during the period. 13.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BABA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alibaba Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Alibaba Group from $225.00 to $212.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Alibaba Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Alibaba Group from $186.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Alibaba Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $209.00 price objective 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.38.

Alibaba Group News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s AI efforts continue to generate strategic interest: its Elements Claw AI agent reportedly discovered four new superconductors, and Alibaba also joined Kuaishou’s Kling AI fundraise alongside Tencent, signaling ongoing investment in China’s AI ecosystem. Article: Alibaba, Tencent back Kuaishou’s Kling AI in $2.8 billion fundraise
• Positive Sentiment: Alibaba’s move to streamline internal AI work tools and tighten security around employee use of third-party AI products may be seen as a governance and data-protection step, which could help reassure investors over time. Article: Alibaba Streamlines AI Work Tools as Competition Mounts
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage-coverage and “investor attention” headlines suggest BABA remains a heavily watched stock, but they do not add much new fundamental information by themselves. Article: Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Alibaba’s Damai International announced a new artist label and global initiative, which is a modest business update rather than a stock-moving catalyst. Article: Alibaba’s Damai International Introduces New Label, Launches Global Artist Initiative
• Negative Sentiment: Alibaba agreed to pay $600 million to settle U.S. allegations involving illegal pharmaceutical and chemical sales through its platforms, a major legal overhang that can weigh on sentiment and raise compliance concerns. Article: Alibaba to pay $600 million to U.S. for illegal pharmaceutical sales
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that President J. Michael Evans sold 720,000 shares add to a cautious tone, since large insider sales can be interpreted as reduced confidence, even if the sale may have been planned or tied to compensation. Article: Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) President Sells 720,000 Shares
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple headlines about Alibaba banning Anthropic’s Claude Code over alleged security or backdoor risks reinforce the idea of intensifying U.S.-China AI tensions and may keep investor sentiment cautious. Article: Alibaba to ban Claude Code in workplace over alleged backdoor risks, source says

Alibaba Group Stock Performance

NYSE:BABA opened at $96.25 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Alibaba Group Holding Limited has a 12-month low of $91.99 and a 12-month high of $192.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.51.

Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $35.30 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts forecast that Alibaba Group Holding Limited will post 6.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alibaba Group Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Fang Jiang sold 4,898 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.09, for a total transaction of $59,216.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,559,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,214,487.99. This trade represents a 0.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Hong Xu sold 175,054 shares of Alibaba Group stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 280,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,408,026.40. This represents a 38.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 920,303 shares of company stock valued at $70,796,370. Company insiders own 12.50% of the company’s stock.

Alibaba Group Profile

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.