William Blair Investment Management LLC Has $968,000 Stock Position in NetEase, Inc. $NTES

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTES) by 169.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 7,037 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,426 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in NetEase were worth $968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of NetEase during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in NetEase by 479.7% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 429 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in NetEase by 31.3% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 436 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in NetEase by 1,684.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 446 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 11.07% of the company’s stock.

NetEase Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:NTES opened at $123.34 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.67 and its 200-day moving average is $125.82. NetEase, Inc. has a 52 week low of $106.06 and a 52 week high of $159.55. The company has a market capitalization of $78.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.72.

NetEase Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. NetEase’s payout ratio is 61.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on NTES. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of NetEase from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NetEase from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Nomura lowered their price objective on NetEase from $160.00 to $155.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NetEase in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.38.

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.