Teacher Retirement System of Texas Boosts Stock Position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,337,182 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after acquiring an additional 795,390 shares during the period. Amazon.com comprises about 2.6% of Teacher Retirement System of Texas' portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Amazon.com were worth $732,144,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Rench Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 7.9% in the third quarter. Rench Wealth Management Inc. now owns 50,403 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $9,392,000 after purchasing an additional 3,703 shares during the last quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 216.4% in the third quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC now owns 6,930 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,291,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares in the last quarter. One Wealth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Amazon.com in the fourth quarter worth $4,270,000. Floyd Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,494,000. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC now owns 18,790 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $4,122,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMZN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays increased their price target on Amazon.com from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Benchmark increased their price target on Amazon.com from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $236.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Amazon.com from $270.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amazon.com has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $247.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 14,620 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.14, for a total value of $3,262,306.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 49,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,933,860. This trade represents a 22.98 % 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 5,501 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.44, for a total transaction of $1,256,648.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,318 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,434,843.92. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 104,798 shares of company stock worth $23,341,803. Insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

Shares of AMZN traded up $4.27 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $184.87. 13,189,772 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,826,105. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.06. The stock's fifty day moving average is $195.11 and its 200 day moving average is $207.66. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.61 and a 1-year high of $242.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.