AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Cuts Position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lessened its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,549,417 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 156,463 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com accounts for approximately 4.3% of AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $294,777,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Amazon.com during the fourth quarter worth $27,266,582,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Amazon.com by 21,420.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 30,245,061 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $5,754,425,000 after acquiring an additional 30,104,520 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in Amazon.com by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 65,709,496 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $14,416,078,000 after acquiring an additional 17,681,004 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Amazon.com by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 823,360,597 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $180,637,081,000 after acquiring an additional 17,635,391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Amazon.com by 17,054.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 12,088,589 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $2,652,116,000 after acquiring an additional 12,018,120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Amazon.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $265.00 to $240.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $248.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $270.00 to $260.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $235.00 to $230.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amazon.com has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 20,923 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.30, for a total value of $4,211,799.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,695 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.79, for a total transaction of $541,129.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 119,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,050,626.20. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 102,037 shares of company stock worth $20,531,075. Corporate insiders own 9.70% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Trading Down 0.5%

AMZN opened at $212.10 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $195.47 and its 200-day moving average is $209.21. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1-year low of $151.61 and a 1-year high of $242.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a market cap of $2.25 trillion, a P/E ratio of 38.35, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Amazon.com 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.