Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stake Trimmed by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,033 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 3,482 shares during the period. Amazon.com comprises 1.2% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $13,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Amazon.com by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 785,811,114 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $141,744,609,000 after buying an additional 14,724,687 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Amazon.com in the fourth quarter worth about $17,700,551,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Amazon.com by 8.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,982,857 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $15,689,968,000 after purchasing an additional 6,810,145 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Amazon.com by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 67,745,972 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $13,091,909,000 after purchasing an additional 289,532 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 56,666,183 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $10,221,446,000 after purchasing an additional 295,132 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.77, for a total transaction of $3,757,123.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,056,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $371,759,651.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.77, for a total transaction of $3,757,123.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,056,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,759,651.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 3,500 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.99, for a total value of $685,965.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 519,753 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,866,390.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,104,317 shares of company stock valued at $1,220,621,322. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Trading Up 1.1 %

AMZN opened at $186.88 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $178.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 trillion, a P/E ratio of 52.35, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.14. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.35 and a 52 week high of $201.20.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.18. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 21.39% and a net margin of 7.35%. The firm had revenue of $147.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.63 billion. Analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMZN shares. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Amazon.com in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Maxim Group increased their price target on Amazon.com from $238.00 to $251.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $222.49.

Amazon.com 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.