Analysts Set NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Target Price at $156.13

Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $156.1250.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NTES shares. Barclays set a $135.00 price target on shares of NetEase and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of NetEase from $145.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetEase in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $155.00 price target on NetEase in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded NetEase from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $138.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Friday, October 10th.

NetEase Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ NTES opened at $132.24 on Thursday. NetEase has a 52 week low of $88.54 and a 52 week high of $159.55. The company has a market capitalization of $83.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $138.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.92.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ABN Amro Investment Solutions bought a new position in shares of NetEase during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,056,000. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its position in shares of NetEase by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 6,296,150 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $956,952,000 after buying an additional 28,381 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Resource Group bought a new position in NetEase during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,313,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in NetEase by 326.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 55,635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,487,000 after buying an additional 42,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust purchased a new position in NetEase during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $261,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetEase Company Profile

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.