Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Holdings Lifted by HM Payson & Co.

Key Points

• HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in Amazon.com, Inc. by 7.8% during the first quarter, holding 870,060 shares valued at approximately $165.5 million.
• Insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold over 2.6 million shares of Amazon, reducing his ownership by 0.30% and netting over $609 million.
• Wall Street analysts have shown strong optimism for Amazon, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.52.

HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 7.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 870,060 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after acquiring an additional 63,259 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for about 2.9% of HM Payson & Co.'s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. HM Payson & Co.'s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $165,538,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brickley Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 14.6% in the first quarter. Brickley Wealth Management now owns 1,798 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 5.1% during the first quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 255,710 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $48,652,000 after acquiring an additional 12,302 shares during the period. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 12.9% during the first quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 79,851 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $15,192,000 after acquiring an additional 9,151 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 3.2% during the first quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC now owns 8,443 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 4.7% during the first quarter. Jackson Thornton Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,877 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,499,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,643,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.43, for a total value of $609,059,211.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 883,779,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $203,649,402,587.43. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,099,537 shares of company stock valued at $5,674,394,548. Insiders own 9.70% of the company's stock.

Amazon.com Trading Down 8.3%

Shares of NASDAQ AMZN traded down $19.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $214.75. The company had a trading volume of 122,007,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 37,811,656. Amazon.com, Inc. has a one year low of $151.61 and a one year high of $242.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $217.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.23. The stock has a market cap of $2.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.31.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.37. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 10.54%. The company had revenue of $167.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. Amazon.com's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMZN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $271.00 price target (up from $249.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Amazon.com from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday. Bank of America raised their target price on Amazon.com from $265.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on Amazon.com from $290.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-six have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $260.85.

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.