Causeway Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in NetEase, Inc. $NTES

Causeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 44.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 638,315 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 196,821 shares during the quarter. NetEase makes up approximately 1.3% of Causeway Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Causeway Capital Management LLC’s holdings in NetEase were worth $97,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetEase during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in shares of NetEase in the third quarter worth $38,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in NetEase in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in NetEase during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in NetEase by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 332 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NTES has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of NetEase in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $155.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wall Street Zen cut NetEase from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, November 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on NetEase from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $153.89.

NetEase Stock Performance

NetEase stock opened at $117.69 on Tuesday. NetEase, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.54 and a 1 year high of $159.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $128.21 and its 200-day moving average is $137.68. The company has a market cap of $74.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.03, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.74.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.16 per share. This represents a $4.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. This is a positive change from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 16th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.93%.

NetEase 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.