Optas LLC Increases Position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,099 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,221 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com makes up 1.7% of Optas LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Optas LLC’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $6,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 785,811,114 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $141,744,609,000 after buying an additional 14,724,687 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth $17,700,551,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 8.5% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 86,982,857 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $15,689,968,000 after buying an additional 6,810,145 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 0.5% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 56,666,183 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $10,221,446,000 after acquiring an additional 295,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 51,920,953 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $7,888,870,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525,922 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMZN opened at $184.89 on Tuesday. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.35 and a 52-week high of $201.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $179.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.14.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.18. Amazon.com had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 21.39%. The firm had revenue of $147.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.63 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In related news, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 14,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $2,628,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,000 shares in the company, valued at $8,820,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 14,600 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $2,628,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 49,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,820,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 4,710 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $918,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 59,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,602,500. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,104,317 shares of company stock worth $1,220,621,322. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMZN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Amazon.com from $232.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Amazon.com from $210.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial increased their price target on Amazon.com from $210.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JMP Securities lifted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $245.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $222.49.

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.