Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 24,513 Shares of NetEase, Inc. $NTES

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its stake in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 79.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,196 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 24,513 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in NetEase were worth $694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in NetEase in the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 3,381.8% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 383 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase by 7,480.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new position in shares of NetEase in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of NetEase by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on NTES. Zacks Research raised shares of NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of NetEase in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetEase in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.38.

Insider Activity at NetEase

In related news, General Counsel Paul William Boltz, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the general counsel directly owned 12,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 hyperlink. 54.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

NetEase Stock Performance

Shares of NTES stock opened at $129.76 on Thursday. NetEase, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.06 and a fifty-two week high of $159.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.84 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $122.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $122.43.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.11%.

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.