Davis Selected Advisers Buys 291,276 Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Davis Selected Advisers increased its Amazon stake by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 291,276 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 3,429,262 shares worth about $791.5 million.
• Large institutional investors remain heavily invested in Amazon, with firms like Vanguard, State Street, and Geode also adding shares; overall, 72.2% of the stock is institutionally owned.
• Wall Street sentiment is still bullish: analysts have an average Moderate Buy rating on AMZN, and the company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates with sales up 16.6% year over year.

Davis Selected Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,429,262 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after acquiring an additional 291,276 shares during the period. Amazon.com makes up 3.6% of Davis Selected Advisers' investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Davis Selected Advisers' holdings in Amazon.com were worth $791,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 832,274,556 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $158,348,557,000 after acquiring an additional 8,913,959 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 381,681,441 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $83,805,794,000 after acquiring an additional 7,584,156 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 216,717,657 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $47,332,625,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,658 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth $27,438,011,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 97,379,134 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $18,527,354,000 after acquiring an additional 302,858 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMZN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price objective (up from $275.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wolfe Research reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target (up from $245.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Fifty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $312.66.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $266.32 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $239.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $231.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.00 and a 12 month high of $278.56.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $1.15. The firm had revenue of $181.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.28 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In other Amazon.com news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $7,562,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 471,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,624,275. This represents a 5.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 31,352 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $8,621,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,175,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,335,650. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 146,773 shares of company stock valued at $37,989,011 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Key Amazon.com News

Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and raised its price target to $310, saying Amazon’s AI-powered shopping tools could help defend and expand its retail franchise. BofA Pounds the Table on Amazon (AMZN) Stock, Sets $310 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted Amazon’s breakout above key technical levels and said the stock remains in a bullish setup, which can attract momentum buyers. Amazon (AMZN) Recently Broke Out Above the 20-Day Moving Average
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage from multiple outlets pointed to Amazon’s AI initiatives, including Alexa for Shopping, as a potential long-term growth driver for retail and advertising. Amazon's Alexa for Shopping seen driving long-term retail growth
• Positive Sentiment: Jeff Bezos and other supporters defended heavy AI spending, and Bill Ackman reportedly added to Amazon, reinforcing the idea that major investors still see upside in the stock. Billionaire Bill Ackman Piled Into Amazon and Microsoft and Slashed His Fund's Mammoth Stake in This AI Kingpin by 95%
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon shareholders re-elected the board and approved the existing pay and governance framework, signaling continuity rather than a major corporate change. Amazon Shareholders Back Board, Pay and Governance Status Quo
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon also faced fresh criticism from U.K. lawmakers over delivery practices, which could add regulatory pressure to the company’s logistics and marketplace operations. Amazon (AMZN) Hit with New Accusation From U.K. Lawmakers

Amazon.com Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon's online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.

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