Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. cut its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 480,154 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 7,541 shares during the period. Amazon.com comprises approximately 3.5% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $105,341,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. QV Investors Inc. boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 70,610 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $15,491,000 after purchasing an additional 8,720 shares during the period. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Mid American Wealth Advisory Group Inc. now owns 2,228 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. HFG Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 19.8% during the 4th quarter. HFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Asset Allocation & Management Company LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $670,000. Finally, JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. JTC Employer Solutions Trustee Ltd now owns 71,477 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $15,811,000 after purchasing an additional 6,750 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMZN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $245.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Benchmark boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Moffett Nathanson boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $235.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.72.

Amazon.com Stock Up 1.9 %

AMZN opened at $235.01 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $196.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.09. Amazon.com, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.61 and a twelve month high of $235.44. The firm has a market cap of $2.47 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.32, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.14.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.29. Amazon.com had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 22.41%. The firm had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel P. Huttenlocher sold 1,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.06, for a total value of $246,237.22. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,958,982.72. This trade represents a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 5,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.81, for a total transaction of $1,132,366.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,911 shares in the company, valued at $106,797,072.91. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,032,344 shares of company stock valued at $1,253,456,822. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.