NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) Receives $160.57 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $160.5714.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of NetEase in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered NetEase from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of NetEase in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, May 22nd.

NetEase Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ NTES opened at $115.63 on Friday. NetEase has a fifty-two week low of $106.06 and a fifty-two week high of $159.55. The stock has a market cap of $74.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $120.46.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.31%.

Insider Transactions at NetEase

In other NetEase news, General Counsel Paul William Boltz, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of NetEase stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.30, for a total transaction of $1,283,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 12,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,568,210.90. This trade represents a 45.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Aileen Mo sold 716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.64, for a total value of $86,378.24. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 54.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NetEase

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NTES. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in NetEase in the first quarter worth $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of NetEase during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of NetEase by 3,381.8% during the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 383 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of NetEase by 7,480.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 379 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, MidFirst Bank bought a new stake in shares of NetEase during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetEase Company Profile

NetEase, Inc is a Chinese internet and technology company that develops and operates online games, digital content services and other internet-related products. Founded in 1997 by Ding Lei, the company has grown into a global developer and publisher of games for personal computers and mobile devices.

NetEase Games is the company’s primary business and offers original titles across genres including role-playing, strategy, action and competitive gaming. The company also publishes games through partnerships with international developers and operates game studios in China and overseas.