Exploring New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) Investor Profile: Who’s Buying and Why?

You're looking at New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) and wondering who is still buying into the post-regulatory rebound story, and honestly, that's the right question to ask after the sector's massive shake-up. The direct takeaway is that while some big money is trimming shares, the conviction among core institutional holders is defintely rising, signaling a long-term bet on the company's pivot to non-academic services and e-commerce through East Buy. Here's the quick math: New Oriental closed its fiscal year 2025 with total net revenues of a solid $4.90 billion, a 13.6% increase year-over-year, which translated to net income of $371.7 million-a 20.1% jump. We track over 214 funds holding roughly 57 million shares, and while total shares owned by institutions dipped by 11.23% in the last quarter, the average portfolio weight dedicated to EDU actually increased by a strong 28.30%, meaning those who are staying are doubling down on their conviction. Are they chasing the average Buy-rated analyst price target of $61.08/share, or are they seeing something deeper in the company's ability to generate cash and adapt? Let's break down the movements of giants like BlackRock and First Beijing Investment Ltd to see which side of the trade is winning.

Who Invests in New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) and Why?

You are looking at New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) because its comeback story is defintely one for the books, but you need to know who else is buying and what their playbook is. The short answer is that the investor base is dominated by large, long-term institutions who are betting on the company's successful pivot from K-12 tutoring to a diversified education and e-commerce powerhouse.

As of late 2025, the institutional ownership structure is robust, with 205 institutional owners holding a total of over 56.8 million shares. This is a clear signal that the smart money views the regulatory risk as largely priced in and the new business model as viable. Retail investors, while active (especially around earnings), are a smaller, more volatile component of the daily volume.

Major asset managers and hedge funds are the core long-term holders. Firms like BlackRock, Inc., The Vanguard Group, Inc., Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are among the top institutional investors, indicating a belief in the long-term stability and growth of the company's new strategy.

Investment Motivations: Betting on the Pivot's Success

The primary motivation for investors in New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) is not a return to the old K-12 model, but a belief in the company's extraordinary adaptation and its strong cash position. The company reported full-year fiscal 2025 revenue of $4.90 billion, a 13.6% year-over-year increase, showing the new strategy is working.

Investors are drawn to three concrete growth prospects:

• Diversified Revenue Streams: The company successfully shifted to non-academic tutoring, overseas test preparation, and intelligent learning systems. Revenue from new educational business initiatives grew by 42.6% year-over-year in the second fiscal quarter of 2025.
• E-commerce Upside (East Buy): The livestreaming e-commerce subsidiary, East Buy, has become a significant driver, turning commerce into education by having hosts teach English lessons during sales broadcasts. This diversification means no single business exceeds 25% of total revenue.
• Financial Resilience: The balance sheet offers a huge safety net. As of the end of FY2025, the company held liquid assets (Cash, term deposits, and short-term investments) totaling approximately $4.93 billion, which more than offsets its total debt of $803.8 million. That's real stability in a volatile market.

For many, this is a growth story with a value floor, especially when you consider the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU). which emphasizes resilience and adaptation.

Strategies: Value, Growth, and Capital Return

The investor base employs a mix of strategies, but the dominant one is a long-term holding approach, often characterized as growth-at-a-reasonable-price (GARP) or value investing.

Here's a quick look at the strategies in play:

The commitment to capital return is a major draw for value investors. The company committed in its Q4 FY2025 report to devoting about half of its GAAP net income to stock buybacks and/or dividends in the next fiscal year. This policy is a clear sign of management's confidence in sustained profitability, moving beyond the recovery phase to a new growth trajectory.

What this estimate hides, however, is the ongoing regulatory risk in China, which always warrants a higher discount rate (cost of capital) than a comparable US-based company. Still, the company's ability to generate non-GAAP net income of $3.17 per ADS in FY2025 makes the risk-reward profile compelling for those who can stomach the geopolitical noise.

Institutional Ownership and Major Shareholders of New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU)

If you're looking at New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU), the first thing to understand is that institutional money drives the stock. Institutions-think mutual funds, pension funds, and major asset managers-collectively hold a significant stake, giving them a powerful voice in the company's direction. As of recent filings for the 2025 fiscal year, institutions own roughly 61% of the company, controlling over 56.8 million shares. That's a huge concentration of power, so their buying and selling decisions are defintely worth tracking.

Top Institutional Investors and Shareholdings

The shareholder registry shows a mix of global investment banks and specialized asset managers. These are the players who have done the deep-dive due diligence (Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis, SWOT, etc.) and decided that EDU's pivot to new educational initiatives, like its overseas study consulting and test preparation services, is a solid bet for the long term. Here is a look at the largest institutional holders based on their Q3 2025 filings:

Here's the quick math: I'm using the September 2025 share counts and the November 5, 2025 share price of $55.85 to calculate a consistent market value for these top reported holdings. What this estimate hides is the exact price each firm paid, which is crucial for their internal return calculations.

Changes in Ownership: A Mixed Signal

The recent change in institutional ownership is a classic mixed signal, which is common for companies navigating a major business model shift. On one hand, the total shares owned by institutions actually saw a net decrease of about 11.23% in the last reported quarter, totaling a reduction of approximately 6.95 million shares. Plus, the overall number of funds holding EDU dropped by 4.89%.

But that's not the whole story. The biggest, most conviction-driven money is moving in. For example, First Beijing Investment Ltd substantially increased its stake by over 7 million shares in the third quarter of 2025, which is a 4.07% rise in their total position. This indicates a strong belief in the company's long-term potential and its successful transition away from K-12 tutoring. Other notable buyers include:

• Aspex Management (HK) Ltd: Increased holdings by 15.85%.
• Renaissance Technologies Llc: Boosted its stake by 7.94%.
• Monolith Management Ltd: Piled in with a 91.3% increase in shares held.

The takeaway here is that while some generalist funds are trimming their positions, the specialist funds are actively accumulating. It's a conviction play.

Impact of Institutional Investors on Stock and Strategy

These large investors play a dual role. First, they are liquidity providers, and their trading volume can make the stock price vulnerable to rapid movements. Back in early 2025, for instance, institutional investors endured the highest losses after a market cap drop of US$512 million. Their collective action can create or destroy momentum. Second, with over 50% ownership, they can strongly influence board decisions, especially regarding capital allocation, like the share repurchase program announced in 2025.

The recent stake buildup by firms like First Beijing Investment Ltd suggests the institutional community is increasingly validating EDU's strategic pivot into non-academic tutoring, overseas services, and its e-commerce venture, East Buy. They are essentially voting with their dollars that the new business model is working and that the company's financial health is stabilizing. You can get a clearer picture of that transformation by reading Breaking Down New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Next Step: Check the latest Form 13F filings for Q4 2025 when they are released to see if this accumulation trend by the major players continues.

Key Investors and Their Impact on New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU)

The investor profile for New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) in 2025 shows a clear vote of confidence from major institutional money managers, with significant stake increases signaling conviction in the company's post-restructuring growth strategy, particularly in non-academic and digital offerings.

You're looking for who is betting big and why, and the quick answer is that sophisticated funds are buying into the pivot away from K-9 tutoring. They see the strength in the new business lines, like overseas test prep and the wildly successful East Buy livestreaming e-commerce platform. This institutional buying helps stabilize the stock and validates the management's strategic shift.

The Big Buyers: Who's Holding the Largest Stakes

The largest institutional shareholders in New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. are a mix of specialized investment firms and global banking giants. The top holder, First Beijing Investment Ltd, is a critical name to watch. They are not just holding; they are actively building their position, which is a powerful signal to the market.

As of recent filings, the top institutional owners collectively hold tens of millions of shares, underscoring the company's return to the radar of serious money. Here's the quick math on the top three as of their latest 2025 filings:

• First Beijing Investment Ltd: Holds 9.35 million shares, valued at approximately $497.89 million.
• Aspex Management (HK) Ltd: Holds 5.88 million shares, valued at about $313.19 million.
• Morgan Stanley: Holds 3.86 million shares, representing a position worth around $205.52 million.

Other major players like Renaissance Technologies Llc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, and UBS Group AG also maintain multi-million-dollar stakes. This breadth of ownership from diverse funds-from quantitative hedge funds to global banks-suggests a broad-based belief in the company's ability to execute its turnaround.

Recent Moves and the Institutional Stamp of Approval

The most telling action isn't the size of the stake, but the direction of the recent trade. The third quarter of fiscal year 2025 saw some defintely notable buying activity. This isn't passive holding; it's active accumulation, which indicates that these funds believe the stock is undervalued relative to its growth prospects.

For example, First Beijing Investment Ltd increased its position by acquiring over 7 million shares on September 30, 2025, representing a 4.07% rise in its stake. This substantial purchase highlights growing institutional conviction just as the company reported a strong Q2 FY2025, with total net revenues increasing 19.4% year-over-year to US$1,038.6 million. Plus, the smaller, more aggressive funds are also piling in:

• SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings by a massive 94.0% in Q2 2025.
• Monolith Management Ltd. boosted its stake by 91.3% to 506,046 shares in a November 2025 filing.
• Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings by 738.0% in the second quarter.

This aggressive buying suggests institutional investors are focused on the company's core educational revenues, which, excluding the East Buy business, grew 31.3% in Q2 FY2025 to US$894.2 million. You can dig deeper into the company's financial stability in Breaking Down New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Investor Influence: Validating the Strategy

While New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. does not currently face a high-profile activist investor campaign (a Schedule 13D filing indicating an intent to change strategy), the influence of these large, long-term institutional holders is still profound. Their collective action dictates the stock's narrative and liquidity.

The primary impact is a strong validation of management's shift toward non-academic tutoring and digital innovation. When a fund like First Beijing Investment Ltd commits nearly half a billion dollars, it signals to the rest of the market that the risk-reward profile is favorable. This confidence helps to:

• Support the share price, especially during broader market volatility.
• Give management the necessary runway to invest in long-term initiatives, such as AI-driven learning tools.
• Encourage other institutional investors to initiate or increase their own positions.

The table below summarizes the stakes of the top institutional holders, showing the sheer size of the capital committed to New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. as of late 2025.

This investor base is betting on the company's ability to turn its massive student base into a profitable, diversified education and e-commerce ecosystem. The next concrete step for you is to monitor the Q4 FY2025 and Q1 FY2026 filings for further evidence of this institutional buying trend.

Market Impact and Investor Sentiment

If you are looking at New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU), the direct takeaway is this: institutional investor sentiment is cautiously positive, driven by the company's successful pivot away from K-9 tutoring and into new, higher-margin ventures. Major shareholders are signaling confidence through significant capital allocation, even while the broader analyst community maintains a more measured 'Hold' consensus.

The company's full-year fiscal 2025 (FY2025) revenue of $4.90 billion-a solid 13.6% increase year-over-year-is the backbone of this sentiment. This growth, post-regulatory overhaul, proves the business model is resilient. What this estimate hides, though, is the ongoing shift in revenue mix, which is what the big funds are really buying into.

Investor Sentiment: Major Shareholders Are Buying the Pivot

The actions of sophisticated investors speak louder than any press release. We've seen a clear accumulation trend from key institutional players, which suggests they are defintely bullish on the new direction. Institutional ownership sits at around 39.3% of the company's shares, a significant block that provides a strong floor for the stock.

For example, First Beijing Investment Ltd executed a notable transaction on September 30, 2025, increasing its position by 7,151,980 shares at a price of $53.07 per share. That's a strong vote of confidence, especially when you consider the firm increased its overall stake by 4.07% in one move. This isn't just a minor portfolio adjustment; it's a strategic alignment with EDU's long-term potential in the education and technology sectors.

• First Beijing Investment Ltd: Increased stake by 7,151,980 shares (September 2025).
• SG Americas Securities LLC: Grew holdings by 94.0% in Q2 2025.
• BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc.: Remain among the top institutional holders, reflecting long-term conviction.

Recent Market Reactions: Repurchases and New Growth Drivers

The stock market has responded positively to two main catalysts: the company's financial engineering and the operational success of its new segments. The stock price, which was around $53.29 as of November 19, 2025, has shown volatility but also strong upward spikes on strategic news.

On October 15, 2025, the stock surged by 9.85% in a single day, fueled by positive investor sentiment and the announcement of a new share repurchase program. This financial maneuver-the company authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $300 million over the next 12 months-is a clear signal from management that they believe the stock is undervalued. The market loves when a company puts its cash where its mouth is.

Operational momentum is also driving the price. In the third fiscal quarter of 2025 (Q3 FY2025), core educational revenues (excluding the East Buy business) increased by a robust 21.2% to $1,038.3 million. This growth is concentrated in key segments:

• Overseas Study Consulting: Revenue growth of +21.4%.
• Domestic Test Preparation: Revenue growth of +17.0%.
• New Educational Initiatives: Revenue growth of +34.5%.

For a deeper dive into the numbers, you might want to check out Breaking Down New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc. (EDU) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors.

Analyst Perspectives: Hold Consensus with Upside

While the major shareholders are accumulating, the analyst community is generally maintaining a 'Hold' rating, which is a classic signal of a company in a successful but still-in-progress transition. As of November 20, 2025, the consensus average target price is $59.53. Here's the quick math: with the stock trading around the low $50s, this suggests a decent near-term upside.

To be fair, not all analysts are on the fence. B of A Securities, for instance, maintained a 'Buy' recommendation as of late September 2025, setting an average one-year price target of $61.08 per share. This perspective hinges on expectations of steady overseas revenues and improved margins as the new business initiatives mature.

Here is a snapshot of the blended analyst view:

The risk here is that if onboarding of new students in the non-academic tutoring courses-which attracted 408,000 enrollments across 60 cities in Q3 FY2025-slows down, churn risk rises and those margin improvements become harder to realize. Still, the overall picture is one of a company that has successfully navigated a crisis and is now in a growth phase, backed by institutional capital. Your next step should be to look closely at the Q2 FY2026 revenue guidance, which is expected to be in the range of $1,132.1 million to $1,163.3 million, to see if the growth trajectory remains on track.