Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Stock Position in NetEase, Inc. $NTES

Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 25.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,363,188 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 274,500 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in NetEase were worth $152,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in NetEase during the first quarter worth $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NetEase during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in NetEase by 7,480.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 379 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in NetEase by 3,381.8% in the 2nd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 383 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in NetEase in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NetEase news, General Counsel Paul William Boltz, Jr. sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.30, for a total transaction of $1,283,000.00. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 12,223 shares in the company, valued at $1,568,210.90. This represents a 45.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 54.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NetEase Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTES opened at $119.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.72. NetEase, Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.06 and a 1 year high of $159.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $123.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.89.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on NTES. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of NetEase in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $169.00 price objective on shares of NetEase in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NetEase from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NetEase currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.38.

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.