Merit Financial Group LLC Decreases Holdings in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Merit Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 30.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,385 shares of the Internet television network’s stock after selling 2,358 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Netflix were worth $2,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NFLX. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 15,039.1% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,075,569 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $1,010,553,000 after buying an additional 2,061,859 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Netflix by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 5,452,271 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $2,654,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,573,978 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 142.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 667,597 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $252,085,000 after purchasing an additional 392,427 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt increased its holdings in Netflix by 171.4% in the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 475,000 shares of the Internet television network’s stock worth $231,258,000 after buying an additional 300,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Netflix during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $99,219,000. 80.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Netflix Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NFLX stock traded up $14.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $579.34. The company had a trading volume of 3,307,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,520,712. Netflix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $317.95 and a fifty-two week high of $639.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $602.66 and its 200 day moving average is $524.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $249.67 billion, a PE ratio of 40.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The Internet television network reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.51 by $0.77. The company had revenue of $9.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.28 billion. Netflix had a return on equity of 29.62% and a net margin of 18.42%. Netflix’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.88 EPS. Research analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 18.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Netflix from $554.00 to $540.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Netflix from $650.00 to $726.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. CICC Research assumed coverage on Netflix in a report on Thursday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $650.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Netflix from $500.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lifted their target price on shares of Netflix from $550.00 to $610.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and twenty-three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $631.15.

Insider Activity at Netflix

In other Netflix news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.35, for a total value of $723,795.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,413,521.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Netflix news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $566.35, for a total value of $723,795.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,413,521.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Theodore A. Sarandos sold 68,957 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.33, for a total transaction of $38,707,632.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,278 shares in the company, valued at $717,379.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 152,833 shares of company stock worth $88,270,051. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Netflix Company Profile

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.