Baskin Financial Services Inc. Decreases Stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Key Points

• Baskin Financial Services Inc. sold 1,265 shares of Amazon, reducing its stake by 0.5%, now owning approximately 240,978 shares valued at $45.8 million.
• In the first quarter, several institutional investors increased their stakes in Amazon, with O'Brien Wealth Partners boosting its holdings by 21.4%.
• Amazon's latest earnings report exceeded analysts' expectations with an EPS of $1.59, along with quarterly revenue of $155.67 billion, marking an 8.6% year-over-year increase.

Baskin Financial Services Inc. cut its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 240,978 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after selling 1,265 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com comprises approximately 3.7% of Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Baskin Financial Services Inc.'s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $45,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Amazon.com in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,266,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Amazon.com by 21,420.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,245,061 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $5,754,425,000 after acquiring an additional 30,104,520 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 65,709,496 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $14,416,078,000 after buying an additional 17,681,004 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 823,360,597 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $180,637,081,000 after acquiring an additional 17,635,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 17,054.5% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,088,589 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $2,652,116,000 after purchasing an additional 12,018,120 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

Amazon.com stock traded up $2.29 during trading on Thursday, reaching $232.48. The company had a trading volume of 24,411,312 shares, compared to its average volume of 43,728,707. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $217.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.33. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.61 and a 52 week high of $242.52.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.21. Amazon.com had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 24.14%. The business had revenue of $155.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $154.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Amazon.com's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on AMZN shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $248.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Amazon.com from $220.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $235.00 target price on Amazon.com and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-five have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 4,273,237 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.81, for a total transaction of $960,666,409.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 897,722,088 shares in the company, valued at $201,816,902,603.28. This trade represents a 0.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,099,537 shares of company stock worth $5,674,394,548. Insiders own 9.70% 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.