Merit Financial Group LLC Has $59.14 Million Holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 310,844 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after acquiring an additional 27,181 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for approximately 0.9% of Merit Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Amazon.com were worth $59,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the fourth quarter worth $800,000. Capital & Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 72.1% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 3,902 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $856,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC grew its position in shares of Amazon.com by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC now owns 49,407 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $10,839,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,036,091 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $885,478,000 after buying an additional 397,007 shares during the period. Finally, Affinity Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Affinity Wealth Management LLC now owns 48,511 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $10,643,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AMZN. BNP Paribas raised Amazon.com to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $207.00 to $203.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $244.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 19,872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.30, for a total transaction of $4,000,233.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,148,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $432,532,102.20. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 2,500 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.98, for a total value of $512,450.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,050 shares in the company, valued at $105,984,909. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 102,037 shares of company stock worth $20,531,075. 9.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amazon.com Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Amazon.com stock opened at $212.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.18. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12-month low of $151.61 and a 12-month high of $242.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

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

About Amazon.com

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.

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