New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 197,261 Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,830,543 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 197,261 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for 3.5% of New York State Teachers Retirement System’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $1,807,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Star Investment Management Corp. increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 66,152 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $15,269,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Safe Harbor Family Capital LLC acquired a new position in Amazon.com during the fourth quarter worth $611,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 57,245 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $13,213,000 after buying an additional 739 shares during the last quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Precision Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 7,679 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $1,773,000 after buying an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reicon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amazon.com during the fourth quarter worth $227,000. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 31,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $8,621,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,175,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $598,335,650. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 3,742 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.59, for a total transaction of $982,611.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $125,248,077.48. The trade was a 0.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 201,026 shares of company stock worth $49,128,874. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Amazon.com

Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating and raised its price target to $310, saying Amazon’s AI-powered shopping tools could help defend and expand its retail franchise. BofA Pounds the Table on Amazon (AMZN) Stock, Sets $310 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary highlighted Amazon’s breakout above key technical levels and said the stock remains in a bullish setup, which can attract momentum buyers. Amazon (AMZN) Recently Broke Out Above the 20-Day Moving Average
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage from multiple outlets pointed to Amazon’s AI initiatives, including Alexa for Shopping, as a potential long-term growth driver for retail and advertising. Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping seen driving long-term retail growth
• Positive Sentiment: Jeff Bezos and other supporters defended heavy AI spending, and Bill Ackman reportedly added to Amazon, reinforcing the idea that major investors still see upside in the stock. Billionaire Bill Ackman Piled Into Amazon and Microsoft and Slashed His Fund’s Mammoth Stake in This AI Kingpin by 95%
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon shareholders re-elected the board and approved the existing pay and governance framework, signaling continuity rather than a major corporate change. Amazon Shareholders Back Board, Pay and Governance Status Quo
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon also faced fresh criticism from U.K. lawmakers over delivery practices, which could add regulatory pressure to the company’s logistics and marketplace operations. Amazon (AMZN) Hit with New Accusation From U.K. Lawmakers

Amazon.com Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Amazon.com stock opened at $266.32 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $239.50 and a 200-day moving average of $231.86. The stock has a market cap of $2.86 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.86, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.46. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.00 and a 52-week high of $278.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $1.15. The company had revenue of $181.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $177.28 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 19.92%. Amazon.com’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMZN. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Amazon.com from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Amazon.com from a “moderate buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $280.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $330.00 target price (up from $280.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Argus restated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, February 6th. Fifty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amazon.com currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $312.66.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon’s online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.