Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 804.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 792,357 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 704,753 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.12% of NetEase worth $81,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in NetEase by 17.2% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 318,550 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,059,000 after buying an additional 46,635 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new position in NetEase during the fourth quarter worth about $964,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in NetEase by 6.3% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 278,802 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,848,000 after purchasing an additional 16,607 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in NetEase by 4.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 134,344 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $13,261,000 after purchasing an additional 6,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in NetEase by 879.6% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 28,311 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,637,000 after purchasing an additional 25,421 shares during the last quarter. 11.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NetEase Price Performance

NTES traded down $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.59. 1,851,772 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,410,418. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $93.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $59.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.53. NetEase, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.30 and a 52 week high of $118.89.

NetEase (NASDAQ:NTES) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The technology company reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.61 billion. NetEase had a net margin of 28.75% and a return on equity of 24.19%. Sell-side analysts forecast that NetEase, Inc. will post 6.68 EPS for the current year.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.495 per share. This represents a $1.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 6th. NetEase’s payout ratio is 30.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NTES shares. StockNews.com lowered NetEase from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 20th. Barclays started coverage on NetEase in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $104.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, July 5th. Benchmark lifted their price target on NetEase from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Finally, HSBC lowered their target price on NetEase from $130.00 to $126.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.86.

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.