Man Group plc Reduces Stock Position in NetEase, Inc. $NTES

Man Group plc lowered its stake in shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 17.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 874,835 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 180,287 shares during the period. Man Group plc owned 0.14% of NetEase worth $120,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of NetEase by 68,860.6% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 8,551,117 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,299,684,000 after buying an additional 8,538,717 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of NetEase by 4.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,133,052 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $172,213,000 after buying an additional 50,861 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of NetEase by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,088,688 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $149,825,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of NetEase by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 923,326 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $127,274,000 after buying an additional 81,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of NetEase by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 894,440 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $123,093,000 after buying an additional 181,007 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

NetEase Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NetEase stock opened at $120.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $77.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $117.72 and a 200 day moving average of $124.07. NetEase, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.06 and a 52 week high of $159.55.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. NetEase’s payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of NetEase in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.38.

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.