Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 171,712 Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,488,005 shares of the Internet television network’s stock after buying an additional 171,712 shares during the period. Netflix makes up approximately 0.6% of Vanguard Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.09% of Netflix worth $33,413,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NFLX. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1.8% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 465,208 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $329,958,000 after acquiring an additional 8,024 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Netflix by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,692,563 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $1,200,485,000 after buying an additional 198,148 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC bought a new stake in Netflix during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Netflix by 5,835.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 233,200 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $165,402,000 after buying an additional 229,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Netflix by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,496 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $14,537,000 after purchasing an additional 1,493 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Netflix from $650.00 to $875.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on Netflix from $1,000.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Netflix from $875.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Netflix from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $1,016.78.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 102,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $980.74, for a total transaction of $100,259,088.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 12,950 shares in the company, valued at $12,700,583. This trade represents a 88.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ann Mather sold 2,682 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $973.00, for a total value of $2,609,586.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 288,103 shares of company stock worth $279,142,041 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Netflix Price Performance

Shares of Netflix stock opened at $960.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $959.08 and its 200 day moving average is $857.81. The stock has a market cap of $410.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.38. Netflix, Inc. has a one year low of $542.01 and a one year high of $1,064.50.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The Internet television network reported $4.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.20 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $10.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 22.34% and a return on equity of 38.32%. The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current year.

About Netflix

Netflix, Inc provides entertainment services. It offers TV series, documentaries, feature films, and games across various genres and languages. The company also provides members the ability to receive streaming content through a host of internet-connected devices, including TVs, digital video players, TV set-top boxes, and mobile devices.