Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases 33,269 Shares of Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,449 shares of the Internet television network’s stock after purchasing an additional 33,269 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Netflix were worth $78,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NFLX. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Netflix by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Obermeyer Wood Investment Counsel Lllp now owns 623 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Netflix by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Private Portfolio Partners LLC now owns 1,042 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Netflix by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 958 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $466,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its position in shares of Netflix by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 2,833 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $1,379,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Financial Alliance LLC grew its position in shares of Netflix by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 757 shares of the Internet television network’s stock valued at $369,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NFLX. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Netflix from $700.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $725.00 target price on shares of Netflix in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Netflix from $700.00 to $735.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Netflix from $655.00 to $780.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic boosted their price target on shares of Netflix from $740.00 to $760.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $681.21.

Insider Transactions at Netflix

In other news, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $593.81, for a total transaction of $758,889.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,772,972.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Netflix news, Chairman Reed Hastings sold 22,526 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $670.49, for a total value of $15,103,457.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 57 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,217.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gregory K. Peters sold 1,278 shares of Netflix stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.81, for a total transaction of $758,889.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 13,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,772,972.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,385 shares of company stock valued at $44,469,351 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.76% of the company’s stock.

Netflix Stock Performance

Shares of NFLX traded down $2.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $631.37. 3,120,659 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,608,843. Netflix, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $344.73 and a fifty-two week high of $697.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $270.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $658.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $609.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The Internet television network reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.74 by $0.14. Netflix had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 32.93%. The firm had revenue of $9.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Netflix, Inc. will post 19.08 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.