Vicus Capital Boosts Stock Holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Vicus Capital raised its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 45.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,249 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,845 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $6,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 359,179,990 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $66,926,008,000 after acquiring an additional 11,370,309 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 199,915,046 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $37,116,341,000 after purchasing an additional 6,545,944 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 57,833,954 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $10,776,201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,984,592 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,308,094 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $10,678,217,000 after purchasing an additional 1,980,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 0.5% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,156,540 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $8,843,714,000 after purchasing an additional 257,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Price Performance

Amazon.com stock opened at $193.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.05 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.06, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $222.18 and a 200-day moving average of $207.10. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52-week low of $151.61 and a 52-week high of $242.52.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMZN. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic lifted their price objective on Amazon.com from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.65.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.65, for a total value of $4,585,989.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,118,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $467,532,195.90. This represents a 0.97 % 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. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.27, for a total transaction of $6,332,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 497,067 shares in the company, valued at $114,459,618.09. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 102,298 shares of company stock worth $22,871,828. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.