Stifel Financial Corp Decreases Stock Position in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)

Stifel Financial Corp decreased its position in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES - Free Report) by 62.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,121 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 10,290 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp's holdings in NetEase were worth $546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTES. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of NetEase by 7.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 6,915 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in NetEase in the 4th quarter worth approximately $222,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in NetEase in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 444 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, Guinness Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 87,521 shares of the technology company's stock worth $7,808,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares during the period. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on NTES shares. Bank of America upped their target price on NetEase from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of NetEase in a research note on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 price objective for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NetEase from $82.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NetEase has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.14.

NetEase Stock Performance

NTES traded up $0.71 on Wednesday, reaching $107.11. 759,415 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,587,380. NetEase, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.85 and a twelve month high of $110.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $101.86 and its 200-day moving average is $96.47. The company has a market cap of $67.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.66.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. NetEase had a net margin of 28.17% and a return on equity of 22.12%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.16 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

NetEase Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 yield of 1.62%. NetEase's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.45%.

NetEase 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.