BNP Paribas Raises Stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

BNP Paribas grew its position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 459,904 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,433 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com accounts for approximately 4.6% of BNP Paribas’ portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Amazon.com were worth $109,777,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMZN. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 125 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Amazon.com during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Perritt Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 190 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Quattro Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 234 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In related news, SVP David Zapolsky sold 19,212 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.50, for a total transaction of $4,178,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,950 shares in the company, valued at $10,864,125. This represents a 27.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 4,784 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.05, for a total transaction of $980,959.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 514,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $105,426,457.50. This trade represents a 0.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,996 shares of company stock worth $6,316,899 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $203.10 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $151.61 and a fifty-two week high of $242.52. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $189.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.79.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $155.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $154.96 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMZN. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective (up from $225.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of Amazon.com to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays dropped their target price on Amazon.com from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $244.09.

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.