Raymond James & Associates Has $1.82 Million Stock Position in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,519 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in NetEase were worth $1,818,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NTES. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp acquired a new stake in NetEase during the 1st quarter worth about $1,135,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in NetEase by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 15,901 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,432,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. acquired a new stake in NetEase during the 1st quarter worth about $8,461,000. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in NetEase during the 1st quarter worth about $266,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in NetEase during the 1st quarter worth about $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

NetEase Stock Performance

Shares of NTES stock opened at $89.94 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.30. NetEase, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.79 and a twelve month high of $118.89. The company has a market capitalization of $57.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21, a PEG ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.58.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by ($0.20). NetEase had a net margin of 28.39% and a return on equity of 24.36%. The company had revenue of $3.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.96 billion. On average, analysts forecast that NetEase, Inc. will post 7.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NetEase Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were given a $1.08 dividend. This is an increase from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. NetEase’s payout ratio is currently 68.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NTES. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on NetEase from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com upgraded NetEase from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NetEase presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $126.00.

About NetEase

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.