NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Trading Down 6.8% – Time to Sell?

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) was down 6.8% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $89.22 and last traded at $92.16. Approximately 989,070 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 1,582,045 shares. The stock had previously closed at $98.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NTES shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of NetEase from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Benchmark raised their target price on NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on NetEase from $82.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NetEase has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.57.

NetEase Trading Down 6.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $59.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $102.39 and its 200-day moving average is $93.74.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 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 firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $27.16 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

NetEase Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 6th were paid a $0.435 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. NetEase’s payout ratio is presently 76.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in NetEase by 88.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,365,464 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $211,023,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,363 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of NetEase by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,725,046 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $332,311,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,818 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in NetEase by 160.2% during the 4th 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 in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,593,000. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers purchased a new position in NetEase in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,287,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.