Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $2.19 Million Investment in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 24,566 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,192,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. WT Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in NetEase in the 4th quarter worth $2,624,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of NetEase in the fourth quarter valued at about $654,000. APEIRON CAPITAL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of NetEase by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. APEIRON CAPITAL Ltd now owns 129,321 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,537,000 after acquiring an additional 22,000 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NetEase during the fourth quarter worth about $3,817,000. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new stake in NetEase during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $318,000. 11.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetEase Stock Down 1.0 %

NetEase stock opened at $100.72 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $102.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $92.79. The company has a market cap of $64.68 billion, a PE ratio of 15.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.61. NetEase, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.85 and a twelve month high of $110.15.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.14. NetEase had a return on equity of 22.12% and a net margin of 28.17%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.16 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.435 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 6th. This represents a $1.74 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. NetEase’s payout ratio is presently 76.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NTES shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on NetEase from $108.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of NetEase from $82.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark boosted their price target on shares of NetEase from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com lowered NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on NetEase from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $114.57.

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.