Bank of America Corp DE Cuts Stock Position in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its position in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES - Free Report) by 23.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 805,194 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 249,150 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.13% of NetEase worth $71,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in NetEase by 88.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,365,464 shares of the technology company's stock worth $211,023,000 after buying an additional 1,107,363 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in NetEase by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,725,046 shares of the technology company's stock worth $332,311,000 after buying an additional 1,074,818 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its position in NetEase by 160.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 1,668,359 shares of the technology company's stock worth $148,834,000 after buying an additional 1,027,102 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in NetEase during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,593,000. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers purchased a new position in NetEase during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company's stock.

NetEase Trading Down 2.6%

NTES stock traded down $3.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $119.58. 2,015,657 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,800. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $102.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.76 billion, a PE ratio of 18.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.66. NetEase, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.85 and a 1-year high of $123.56.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.16 billion. NetEase had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 28.17%. As a group, research analysts expect that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 6th were issued a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. NetEase's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on NetEase in a research report on Monday, May 12th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on NetEase from $104.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Benchmark raised their target price on NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NetEase has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.14.

NetEase Company 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.