Westpac Banking Corp Increases Stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Westpac Banking Corp grew its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 268,033 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after buying an additional 15,136 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for approximately 3.9% of Westpac Banking Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Amazon.com were worth $58,804,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,266,582,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 823,360,597 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $180,637,081,000 after acquiring an additional 17,635,391 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 17,054.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,088,589 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $2,652,116,000 after acquiring an additional 12,018,120 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 359,179,990 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $66,926,008,000 after acquiring an additional 11,370,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 199,915,046 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $37,116,341,000 after purchasing an additional 6,545,944 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.27, for a total transaction of $6,332,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 497,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at $114,459,618.09. This represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 19,212 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.50, for a total value of $4,178,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,950 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,864,125. This represents a 27.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 104,798 shares of company stock valued at $23,341,803 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMZN traded down $0.22 during trading on Friday, reaching $189.98. 77,794,995 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 41,684,289. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.61 and a 12 month high of $242.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $190.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $155.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $154.96 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 9.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Research analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Maxim Group upped their price objective on Amazon.com from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $207.00 to $203.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Westpark Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $243.55.

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.