Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New Investment in NetEase, Inc. $NTES

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 52,200 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,843,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in NetEase by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,297 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in NetEase during the 1st quarter worth approximately $63,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of NetEase by 106.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 542 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of NetEase by 287.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 91,571 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,324,000 after buying an additional 67,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of NetEase by 670.9% in the second quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 5,265 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $709,000 after buying an additional 4,582 shares in the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at NetEase

In related news, General Counsel Paul William Boltz, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.30, for a total value 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 54.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on NTES shares. 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NetEase from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $169.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research downgraded shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.38.

NetEase Stock Performance

NetEase stock opened at $129.62 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.72. NetEase, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.06 and a fifty-two week high of $159.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $124.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.38.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

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

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.