Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $76.11 Million Holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Empire Life Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 12.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 346,924 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 38,098 shares during the period. Amazon.com makes up approximately 4.8% of Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Empire Life Investments Inc.’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $76,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 359,179,990 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $66,926,008,000 after buying an additional 11,370,309 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Amazon.com by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 199,915,046 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $37,116,341,000 after acquiring an additional 6,545,944 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Amazon.com by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 57,833,954 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $10,776,201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,984,592 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 57,308,094 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $10,678,217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980,663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 47,156,540 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $8,843,714,000 after acquiring an additional 257,072 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amazon.com Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ AMZN opened at $197.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $221.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $207.26. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12 month low of $151.61 and a 12 month 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 35.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.19.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 24.25%. Equities analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.27, for a total transaction of $6,332,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 497,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,459,618.09. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 2,118,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $467,532,195.90. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 102,298 shares of company stock worth $22,871,828. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on AMZN. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $246.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Amazon.com from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.65.

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.