Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Down 1.6% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) dropped 1.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $222.14 and last traded at $222.91. Approximately 8,609,783 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 34,105,473 shares. The stock had previously closed at $226.63.

Specifically, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 5,501 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.44, for a total transaction of $1,256,648.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,318 shares in the company, valued at $115,434,843.92. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 497,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $114,459,618.09. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMZN has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $212.00 to $207.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic upped their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amazon.com presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $260.74.

Amazon.com Trading Down 2.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 trillion, a PE ratio of 39.16, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50-day moving average price is $228.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 24.25%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AMZN. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in Amazon.com by 400.0% in the fourth quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 125 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Amazon.com by 20.5% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150,661 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 25,581 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.