Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX - Free Report) by 39.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,217 shares of the Internet television network's stock after acquiring an additional 3,174 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Netflix were worth $9,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Advisory Resource Group raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 0.7% in the third quarter. Advisory Resource Group now owns 1,746 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 656 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $585,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 575 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. New World Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Netflix by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. New World Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the Internet television network's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heartland Bank & Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Netflix by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 1,770 shares of the Internet television network's stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the period. 80.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Netflix

In related news, Director Richard N. Barton sold 5,698 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $756.00, for a total value of $4,307,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 246 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $185,976. The trade was a 95.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider David A. Hyman sold 267 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $765.67, for a total transaction of $204,433.89. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 31,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,202,828.70. The trade was a 0.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 152,198 shares of company stock valued at $127,616,898. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company's stock.

Netflix Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NFLX traded up $15.73 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $858.10. The company had a trading volume of 3,563,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,297,633. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Netflix, Inc. has a 1-year low of $476.06 and a 1-year high of $941.75. The business's 50 day moving average price is $884.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $758.48. The firm has a market cap of $366.80 billion, a PE ratio of 48.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.27.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The Internet television network reported $5.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.09 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $9.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.77 billion. Netflix had a net margin of 20.70% and a return on equity of 35.86%. Research analysts forecast that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.78 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on NFLX shares. Pivotal Research upped their target price on Netflix from $925.00 to $1,100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Benchmark upped their price objective on Netflix from $555.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lifted their target price on Netflix from $550.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Netflix from $825.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Macquarie raised their price target on shares of Netflix from $795.00 to $965.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $845.06.

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.