ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN – Free Report) by 1,793.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 562,583 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 532,878 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com makes up about 3.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $140,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AMZN. Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.3% in the second quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 107,563 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,414 shares during the last quarter. TOP Private Wealth LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Atomic Invest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 41.2% during the 2nd quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 168 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Key Amazon.com News
Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Strong AWS and AI growth remain the central bull case. AWS is reportedly expanding at its fastest pace in 18 quarters, while Amazon’s custom Trainium chips are being made available to PyTorch developers. Analysts see cloud growth, advertising, operating leverage and AI infrastructure as potential drivers of substantial long-term upside. Amazon AI growth and upside analysis
- Positive Sentiment: Institutional and analyst support provided a counterpoint. Morgan Stanley named Amazon a top pick and raised its price target, while Citadel increased its Amazon position. Jefferies also said warehouse automation and Amazon’s logistics network could improve retail margins over time. Citadel Amazon stake and AI bubble article
- Positive Sentiment: Amazon continues to expand strategic growth opportunities. The company is involved in a proposed 960-megawatt nuclear project in Indiana, and data indicate it is gaining fresh-grocery market share from traditional supermarkets. Amazon nuclear energy project
- Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter results are the immediate focus. Wall Street expects earnings growth, but investors are watching AWS growth, operating margins, free cash flow and management’s outlook for capital expenditures. The company’s recent spending plans reportedly approach $200 billion to $220 billion, making the earnings call particularly important. Amazon earnings preview
- Negative Sentiment: AI investment is raising return-on-capital concerns. Reports say some Nvidia-powered server racks purchased by Amazon are sitting idle because data centers lack sufficient electricity, while Amazon has also abandoned a planned Virginia data-center campus. Such developments could delay monetization of its massive infrastructure spending. Amazon Nvidia chips and data-center power report
- Negative Sentiment: Competitive, regulatory and labor risks remain overhangs. Debate over whether AI is in a bubble, Walmart’s more open approach to AI-agent commerce, a proposed bill targeting subsidies for large AI data centers, and renewed Teamsters pressure on delivery rules could increase uncertainty or costs. Amazon and Walmart AI-agent commerce article
Insider Activity
In other news, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 6,172 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.31, for a total value of $1,606,633.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,427,674.17. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,258 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.77, for a total transaction of $2,404,950.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,699,926.30. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,580,515. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.
Amazon.com Trading Down 4.6%
Shares of Amazon.com stock opened at $250.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $255.85 and a 200-day moving average of $253.33. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.00 and a 52-week high of $287.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.45.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. Amazon.com had a net margin of 17.44% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The business had revenue of $200.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. Amazon.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts recently commented on AMZN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Telsey Advisory Group set a $335.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Amazon.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Fifty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.53.
View Our Latest Stock Report on AMZN
About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and e-commerce company founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. Originally launched as an online bookstore, the company has expanded into a broad digital marketplace offering consumer products across numerous categories, including electronics, household goods, apparel, groceries and other merchandise. Amazon also sells products under its own brands and provides logistics, fulfillment and delivery services that support its retail operations and third-party sellers.
The company’s principal businesses include online and physical retail, Amazon Web Services (AWS), digital advertising, subscription services and consumer technology.
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