First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Sells 374 Shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. reduced its stake in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,929 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 374 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in NetEase were worth $367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in NetEase during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in NetEase in the third quarter valued at about $297,000. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in NetEase by 10.3% in the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,154 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $388,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in NetEase in the third quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in NetEase by 44.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

NetEase Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NTES stock opened at $79.12 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $83.79 and its 200 day moving average is $89.95. NetEase, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.85 and a 12 month high of $118.89.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The technology company reported $12.05 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $10.43. The company had revenue of $25.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.01 billion. NetEase had a net margin of 26.98% and a return on equity of 22.30%. NetEase’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.02 EPS for the current year.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.435 per share. This represents a $1.74 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of NetEase from $104.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of NetEase from $126.00 to $103.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Bank of America dropped 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NetEase presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $112.67.

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.