Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) Shares Purchased by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service has increased its holdings in Netflix, Inc. by 2.3%, now owning 869,235 shares, which represents about 0.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Equities research analysts have shown confidence in Netflix's growth, with several firms raising their price targets, including Piper Sandler increasing it to $1,500.00.
• Netflix reported earnings of $7.19 per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations and demonstrating a 15.9% increase in revenue year-over-year.

National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 869,235 shares of the Internet television network's stock after buying an additional 19,397 shares during the quarter. Netflix makes up 0.8% of National Pension Service's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. National Pension Service owned about 0.20% of Netflix worth $810,588,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NFLX. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 109,524.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,835,722 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $8,239,576,000 after buying an additional 8,827,662 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Netflix during the first quarter worth about $2,385,585,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 57.3% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,393,064 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,164,134,000 after buying an additional 1,236,251 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,574,006 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $4,076,903,000 after buying an additional 570,674 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,997,260 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $35,433,585,000 after buying an additional 509,255 shares in the last quarter. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NFLX. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Netflix from $1,500.00 to $1,560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Netflix from $1,230.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Netflix from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Netflix from $1,175.00 to $1,490.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Macquarie upped their price target on shares of Netflix from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $1,297.66.

Netflix Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NFLX stock traded up $26.12 on Thursday, hitting $1,230.56. The stock had a trading volume of 3,901,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,191,314. The firm has a market capitalization of $522.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.59. The stock's 50 day moving average is $1,231.68 and its 200-day moving average is $1,098.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a current ratio of 1.34. Netflix, Inc. has a 52-week low of $659.80 and a 52-week high of $1,341.15.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The Internet television network reported $7.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.07 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $11.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.04 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 24.58% and a return on equity of 42.50%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 24.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Reed Hastings sold 26,933 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,211.66, for a total value of $32,633,638.78. Following the sale, the director directly owned 394 shares of the company's stock, valued at $477,394.04. This represents a 98.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 2,601 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,307.22, for a total transaction of $3,400,079.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 3,691 shares in the company, valued at $4,824,949.02. This represents a 41.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,307 shares of company stock valued at $179,443,809 over the last ninety days. 1.37% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.