Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Cuts Stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. trimmed its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,577,432 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 74,715 shares during the period. Amazon.com makes up approximately 3.2% of Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $346,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Amazon.com by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 486,973 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $106,837,000 after purchasing an additional 2,192 shares in the last quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Howland Capital Management LLC now owns 73,394 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $16,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC lifted its position in Amazon.com by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Horizons LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares in the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 37,056 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $8,130,000 after purchasing an additional 5,050 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 18,655 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $4,093,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, HSBC upped their target price on Amazon.com from $225.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.65.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

NASDAQ AMZN opened at $200.70 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.87. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1 year low of $151.61 and a 1 year high of $242.52.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 9.29%. Analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, Director Jonathan Rubinstein sold 4,351 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.85, for a total value of $1,000,077.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 88,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,273,459.55. This represents a 4.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 8,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.47, for a total transaction of $1,965,077.51. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 119,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,647,456.60. This trade represents a 6.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 106,649 shares of company stock valued at $23,871,905 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.80% 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.