Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Netflix, Inc. $NFLX

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Netflix stake by 850.7% in Q4, buying 9,716,017 shares to own 10,858,157 shares (about 0.26% of Netflix) valued at roughly $1.018 billion.
• Multiple large institutions also made massive Q4 additions — including Vanguard (+912.5% to 390,014,981 shares), Baillie Gifford, Jennison, Sumitomo Mitsui and Nordea — leaving hedge funds and institutional investors with about 80.93% of Netflix's stock.
• Netflix recently beat estimates with EPS $1.23 (vs. $0.76) and $12.25B revenue, reported strong margins and ROE, set Q2 EPS guidance of 0.78, and carries a consensus analyst target of $114.82 ("Moderate Buy").

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 850.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,858,157 shares of the Internet television network's stock after buying an additional 9,716,017 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Netflix worth $1,018,062,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NFLX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Netflix by 912.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 390,014,981 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $36,567,805,000 after buying an additional 351,493,659 shares during the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its holdings in Netflix by 912.3% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 36,940,035 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,463,498,000 after buying an additional 33,290,988 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Netflix by 639.9% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 34,871,951 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $3,269,594,000 after buying an additional 30,158,900 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Netflix by 891.3% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 12,099,908 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $1,134,487,000 after buying an additional 10,879,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Netflix by 886.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 9,667,997 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $902,798,000 after buying an additional 8,688,113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.93% of the company's stock.

Netflix Price Performance

Netflix stock opened at $91.05 on Tuesday. Netflix, Inc. has a one year low of $75.01 and a one year high of $134.12. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $383.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.41, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.55.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 16th. The Internet television network reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.47. Netflix had a return on equity of 40.92% and a net margin of 28.52%.The firm had revenue of $12.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. Netflix has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 0.780-0.780 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Spencer Adam Neumann sold 57,260 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.50, for a total value of $5,468,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 73,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,046,658.50. This trade represents a 43.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 27,312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.24, for a total value of $2,273,450.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 122,140 shares in the company, valued at $10,166,933.60. This trade represents a 18.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,398,593 shares of company stock valued at $132,740,606 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NFLX. Citic Securities raised their price objective on shares of Netflix from $95.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $115.00 target price (up from $103.00) on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, April 17th. DZ Bank reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Netflix in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Arete Research upgraded shares of Netflix from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Netflix from $150.00 to $120.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-four have given a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.82.

Netflix Profile

Netflix, Inc NASDAQ: NFLX is a global entertainment company that provides subscription-based streaming of films, television series, documentaries and other video content. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph and headquartered in Los Gatos, California, the company began as a DVD-by-mail rental service and introduced streaming video in 2007. Netflix later expanded into producing and distributing original programming, beginning notable original hits in the 2010s, and now operates a content production and distribution ecosystem alongside its licensing activity.

The company's primary product is its on-demand streaming service, which can be accessed on a wide range of internet-connected devices and delivered through a suite of apps and web platforms.

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