Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Position in NetEase, Inc. $NTES

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 178.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,372 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,721 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in NetEase were worth $1,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Expressive Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in NetEase during the 4th quarter valued at about $380,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its stake in NetEase by 7,480.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. Summitry LLC grew its stake in NetEase by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 2,772 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in NetEase by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,091 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 2,401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in NetEase by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 192,100 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,437,000 after acquiring an additional 50,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NTES. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of NetEase from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.38.

NetEase Stock Down 0.7%

NetEase stock opened at $118.70 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $75.78 billion, a PE ratio of 15.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.72. NetEase, Inc. has a 52-week low of $106.06 and a 52-week high of $159.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $116.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.70.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is 38.11%.

About NetEase

NetEase, Inc (NASDAQ: NTES) is a Chinese technology company headquartered in Hangzhou that develops and operates Internet services and products. Founded in 1997 by William Ding (Ding Lei), the company has grown from an early web portal and e-mail provider into a diversified online services group. William Ding has served as the company’s founder and long-time leader, guiding its expansion into games, digital content and consumer services.

The company’s primary business is interactive entertainment: NetEase Games designs, develops and publishes PC and mobile games for domestic and international audiences, offering a mix of self-developed franchises and titles published under licensing and strategic partnerships.