NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) Shares Down 2.5%

NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) dropped 2.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $92.21 and last traded at $92.55. Approximately 326,325 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,732,372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NTES has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on NetEase from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. StockNews.com raised shares of NetEase from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NetEase presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $126.00.

NetEase Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $60.17 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $103.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $103.21.

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

NetEase Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $1.08 dividend. This is a boost from NetEase’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 13th. NetEase’s payout ratio is currently 68.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NetEase

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of NetEase by 226.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,896,495 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $176,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315,410 shares during the last quarter. Tairen Capital Ltd purchased a new position in NetEase in the fourth quarter valued at about $164,307,000. WT Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in NetEase by 381.1% during the fourth quarter. WT Asset Management Ltd now owns 996,686 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $92,851,000 after purchasing an additional 789,499 shares during the last quarter. Aspex Management HK Ltd acquired a new stake in NetEase during the fourth quarter worth about $59,354,000. Finally, Coatue Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NetEase during the fourth quarter worth about $52,532,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

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.