Analysts Set NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Price Target at $158.38

Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $158.3750.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded NetEase from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered NetEase from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $169.00 price target on NetEase in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th.

Insider Buying and Selling at NetEase

In other news, General Counsel Paul William Boltz, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.30, for a total transaction of $1,283,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 12,223 shares in the company, valued at $1,568,210.90. This represents a 45.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 54.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NetEase in the first quarter worth $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in NetEase during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in NetEase by 3,381.8% during the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 383 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in NetEase by 7,480.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 379 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NetEase in the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NetEase Stock Down 6.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTES opened at $121.21 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $123.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.10. NetEase has a twelve month low of $106.06 and a twelve month high of $159.55.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. NetEase’s payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Hangzhou that develops and operates Internet services and products. Founded in 1997 by William Ding (Ding Lei), the company has grown from an early web portal and e-mail provider into a diversified online services group. William Ding has served as the company’s founder and long-time leader, guiding its expansion into games, digital content and consumer services.

The company’s primary business is interactive entertainment: NetEase Games designs, develops and publishes PC and mobile games for domestic and international audiences, offering a mix of self-developed franchises and titles published under licensing and strategic partnerships.