Avity Investment Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Avity Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 1.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 307,384 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 4,741 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com makes up approximately 4.6% of Avity Investment Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $55,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 771,086,427 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $117,158,872,000 after purchasing an additional 13,134,632 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Amazon.com during the fourth quarter valued at $17,700,551,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Amazon.com by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 92,329,336 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $11,736,905,000 after buying an additional 3,260,411 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Amazon.com by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 56,371,051 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $8,565,017,000 after buying an additional 1,389,503 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Amazon.com by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 51,920,953 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $7,888,870,000 after buying an additional 1,525,922 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMZN. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Amazon.com from $234.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Amazon.com from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.86.

Amazon.com Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of AMZN opened at $197.59 on Friday. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.35 and a 1 year high of $200.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.15. The stock has a market cap of $2.06 trillion, a PE ratio of 55.35, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.15.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.15. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 19.86% and a net margin of 6.38%. The business had revenue of $143.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $142.65 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Amazon.com’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.39, for a total transaction of $489,753.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 119,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,726,894.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.99, for a total transaction of $685,965.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 519,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,866,390.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.39, for a total value of $489,753.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 119,780 shares in the company, valued at $21,726,894.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 69,548 shares of company stock worth $12,774,204 in the last three months. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Company Profile

Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content.