Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 6,974 Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 49.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,076 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 6,974 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in NetEase were worth $662,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of NetEase by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 327,400 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,876,000 after acquiring an additional 36,000 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in NetEase by 804.5% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 792,357 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $81,983,000 after purchasing an additional 704,753 shares during the last quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD raised its position in shares of NetEase by 16.7% in the third quarter. Guinness Asset Management LTD now owns 86,741 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $8,111,000 after purchasing an additional 12,410 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in shares of NetEase by 79.0% in the first quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 12,677 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 5,595 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of NetEase by 65.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 772,242 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,811,000 after buying an additional 306,500 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of NetEase from $142.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup raised their price target on NetEase from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Benchmark cut their price objective on NetEase from $120.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays decreased their target price on NetEase from $104.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on NetEase from $126.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, NetEase presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $107.29.

NetEase Stock Down 2.9 %

NTES stock opened at $85.68 on Wednesday. NetEase, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.85 and a twelve month high of $118.89. The company has a market cap of $55.02 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.75.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The technology company reported $12.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $10.43. The company had revenue of $25.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.01 billion. NetEase had a return on equity of 20.82% and a net margin of 26.02%. NetEase’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.08 EPS for the current year.

NetEase Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.435 dividend. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.22%.

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.