E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Acquires New Holdings in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 11,365 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,059,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AI Squared Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of NetEase in the fourth quarter worth $7,322,000. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of NetEase by 6,493.3% in the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 321,884 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,764,000 after buying an additional 317,002 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of NetEase by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 2,755 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. ABS Direct Equity Fund LLC bought a new position in shares of NetEase during the fourth quarter worth about $289,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,820 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NetEase Price Performance

Shares of NTES traded up $1.86 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $98.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,015,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,879. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.55. NetEase, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.79 and a 1-year high of $118.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.58.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.62 by ($0.20). NetEase had a net margin of 28.39% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The firm had revenue of $3.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. Equities analysts predict that NetEase, Inc. will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. This is a positive change from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NTES. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NetEase from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. HSBC cut their price target on shares of NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on NetEase from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.00.

NetEase Profile

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.