NetEase, Inc. $NTES Shares Sold by Sanctuary Advisors LLC

Sanctuary Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 42.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,493 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 7,810 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in NetEase were worth $1,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NTES shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $158.00 price objective on shares of NetEase in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised NetEase from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research raised NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.38.

NetEase Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:NTES opened at $119.55 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $123.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $121.89. NetEase, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.06 and a 52 week high of $159.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 0.72.

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 given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. NetEase’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

NetEase Profile

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.