NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Shares Sold by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd reduced its stake in shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,728,407 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 41,013 shares during the quarter. NetEase comprises 1.9% of Ninety One UK Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in NetEase were worth $626,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,290 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in NetEase by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 3,195 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in NetEase by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in NetEase by 31.4% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 678 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in NetEase by 1.5% in the third quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,201 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,222,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NetEase Stock Up 2.5 %

NASDAQ NTES traded up $2.27 on Thursday, reaching $92.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,100,831 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,743,342. NetEase, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.79 and a 12-month high of $118.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $104.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.58.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.20). NetEase had a return on equity of 24.36% and a net margin of 28.39%. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.96 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that NetEase, Inc. will post 7.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. This is a positive change from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NTES. StockNews.com upgraded NetEase from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on NetEase from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.00.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc engages in online games, music streaming, online intelligent learning services, and internet content services businesses in China and internationally . The company operates through Games and Related Value-Added Services, Youdao, Cloud Music, and Innovative Businesses and Others segments.