Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 59.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 798,063 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after acquiring an additional 298,457 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com accounts for about 1.9% of Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.'s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $175,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,335,826 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $2,484,864,000 after purchasing an additional 183,610 shares during the last quarter. Sassicaia Capital Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the third quarter worth approximately $279,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 356,539 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $66,434,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Management Co. raised its position in Amazon.com by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 33,460 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $6,235,000 after purchasing an additional 7,246 shares during the period. Finally, Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Amazon.com by 4.3% during the third quarter. Pettinga Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,512 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $1,027,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.65, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total transaction of $469,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 509,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,776,017.26. This trade represents a 0.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 104,798 shares of company stock worth $23,341,803. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on AMZN. Benchmark boosted their price objective on Amazon.com from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $236.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on Amazon.com from $270.00 to $230.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Amazon.com from $273.00 to $225.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $248.96.

Amazon.com Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AMZN traded up $5.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $173.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 53,955,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,828,843. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $196.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52 week low of $151.61 and a 52 week high of $242.52. 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 (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.