Tag: AMZN

What Warren Buffett has been Buying

by Fred Fuld III

Warren Buffett, top investor and one of the richest people in the world, is in charge of Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) (BRKB) which is up about 50% over the last five years. Even during the last month, BRKA outperformed the S&P 500 by 1.3%. So many look to Buffett to see where he is investing his money.

According to the latest reported filing with the SEC, Berkshire has made the following purchases earlier this year:

Bank of America (BAC) bought 31,081,000 shares

US Bancorp (USB) bought 3,150,787 shares

Amazon (AMZN) bought 54,000 shares

Red hat (RHT) bought 61,419 shares

In regards to what Warren Buffett sold, he liquidated all shares of USG Corp. (USG), and sold 284,102 shares of Charter Communications (CHTR).

Disclosure: Author owns AMZN & BAC.

Are You Watching the Streaming Video Stocks?

by Fred Fuld III

Could you have imagined 15 years ago that you would have the ability to watch almost any movie or TV show whenever you want, as many times as you want, and could pause it and replay parts of it, without having to insert a disc into a player, would you have believed it?

Most major films and television programs can now be watched on your smart TV, you computer, your laptop, and even your phone. Several companies are benefiting from this major trend, providing investors with stocks that they should keep an eye on.

Amazon’s (AMZN) Prime Video is an Internet video on demand service that offers television shows and films for rent or purchase and Prime Video, a group of Amazon Studios original content and licensed acquisitions including Bosch, The Man in the High Castle, Sneaky Pete, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Amazon trades at 64 times forward earnings, and revenues for the latest reported quarter jumped by almost 20% year-over-year.

Netflix (NFLX) is the biggest pure play in this arena, having around 140 million subscribers. The company also has extensive original programming including stand-up comedy specials. The stock trades at 88 times forward earnings. Sales for the latest quarter went up by over 27%.

Streaming video is a small but growing piece of Disney (DIS) which owns 60% of Hulu, in addition to its own streaming services. Like Netflix and Amazon, Hulu has its own original content. Disney has a very reasonable forward price to earnings ratio of 16, and even pays a dividend of 1.53%.

Of course, video streaming is a small part of a lot of large companies, such as Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), and YouTube, owned by Alphabet (GOOG) (GOOGL), better known as Google.

Let’s watch and see which company will be the best performer.

Disclosure: Author owns AMZN, AAPL, and DIS.

How to Invest in Valentine’s Day

by Fred Fuld III

There are just a couple days left to shop for Valentine’s Day. Why not give your loved one a Valentines stock, instead of one of the typical ones. The Valentines stocks include those that sell chocolate, jewelry, greeting cards, and gift wrap.

Here is a stock that is not very well know but very gift oriented. CSS Industries Inc. (CSS) markets gift wrap, gift bags, boxed greeting cards, gift tags, tissue paper, decorations, and decorative ribbons and bows. The stock trades at 7.8 times forward earnings, and pays a generous forward dividend yield of about 10%.

red rose

Flowers are always popular. 1-800-Flowers.com Inc. (FLWS) is the largest publicly traded company of flowers, plus it markets cakes, cookies, candy, wines, gift baskets, and other goodies for your valentine. The stock trades at 45.9 times forward earnings, and a price to sales ratio of 0.93.

chocolate candy

 Unless they have an allergy, all valentines like chocolate. The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (RMCF), based in Durango, Colorado produces and sells various types of chocolate candy including caramels, creams, mints, and truffles. The company was founded in 1981, has over 300 franchise locations. The price to earnings ratio is 21.2. Rocky Mountain pays a very tasty dividend yield of 5.5%.

What valentine doesn’t like jewelry? Something like a Platinum Pear Cut Emerald And Round Diamond Pendant would make a nice gift. The price is only $120,443 and is available through Amazon (AMZN).

Tiffany (TIF), founded in 1837, is one of the largest jewelry companies in the world, with over 60 U.S. stores and numerous international locations. The stock trades at 16.8 times forward earnings. This stock also pays a dividend, with a decent yield of 2.5%.

 For more stocks that could increase sales from the Valentine experience, such as candy and chocolate stocks, check out the free lists here at WSTNN.com.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

How to Get Free Same Day and One Day Delivery from Amazon

If you are doing some last minute shopping, you may be pleased to know that Amazon offers Free Same Day and One Day Delivery. Here are the catches:

  1. It is limited to certain items but over a million items qualify.
  2. It is limited to certain cities but over 10,000 cities and towns qualify.
  3. The order must be for over $35.
  4. Same day orders must be placed by noon.
  5. Next day orders must be placed by the afternoon.
  6. Must be a member of Amazon Prime.

For more information, go HERE.

 

Invest Like a Billionaire

Did you know that ten out of the top twelve American billionaires made their money from a stock? The Forbes 400 Magazine was published about a month ago, which listed the wealthiest people in the United States.

It is interesting to note that most of the wealthiest achievements are from publicly traded companies. Maybe you can piggyback on some of these billionaires and their stocks.

Here is a list of the top dozen wealthy people with stock connections.

  1. Jeff Bezos – Amazon (AMZN)
  2. Bill Gates – Microsoft (MSFT)
  3. Warren Buffett – Berkshire Hathaway (BRKA) (BRKB)
  4. Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook (FB)
  5. Larry Ellison – Oracle (ORCL)
  6. Larry Page – Google (GOOG) (GOOGL)
  7. Sergey Brin – Google (GOOG) (GOOGL)
  8. Jim Walton – Walmart (WMT)
  9. Alice Walton – Walmart (WMT)
  10. S. Robson Walton – Walmart (WMT)
  11. Steve Ballmer – Microsoft (MSFT)
  12. Phil Knight – Nike (NKE)

How to Invest in Halloween

by Fred Fuld III

It’s time to buy Halloween candy yet for the trick-or-treaters. The candy manufacturers need your help. Other business can also benefit from Halloween holiday, such as the horror movie companies.

The biggest beneficiaries of Halloween are the confectionary makers. One example is Hershey Foods (HSY), one of the largest chocolate and candy companies in the world, with two of its most popular products being Hershey Kisses and Hershey Bars, along with Reese’s. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 20.4, a forward P/E ratio of 19.2, and  pays a dividend yield of 2.7%. The latest quarterly earnings per share were up 13.7% year over year.

Tootsie Roll Industries (TR) has an assortment of candy kids, such as Tootsie Rolls, Tootsie Roll Pops, Caramel Apple Pops, Charms, Blow-Pops, Blue Razz, Zip-A-Dee Pops, Cella’s, Mason Dots, Mason Crows, Junior Mint, Sugar Daddys, and Sugar Babies. The stock has a P/E of 26.3 and a yield of 1.15%. Earnings per share for the latest quarter are down slightly from a year ago.

Mondelez International (MDLZ) is a multinational producer of candy, along with food and beverages. Its brands include Sour Patch, Swedish Fish, Cadbury, and Toblerone. Trailing P/E is 18.5 and the forward P/E is 16.2. The yield is a tasty 2.5%.

Watching scary movies is another popular event on Halloween. Netflix (NFLX), the huge provider of videos in the US, has an extensive selection of scary movies in its collection of titles. The stock trades as 114 times trailing earnings and 72 times forward earnings. It does not pay a dividend.

A major producer of scary movies is Lions Gate Entertainment (LGF.A), which has made such films as American Psycho, Ginger Snaps, Route 666, The Devil’s Rejects, House of the Dead 2, Saw VI, See No Evil, Hostel: Part II, My Bloody Valentine 3D and many others. Lionsgate has a price to earnings ratio of 11.4, and pays a dividend of 1.9%.

Then of course, Amazon (AMZN) has plenty of Halloween costumes. Amazon has a trailing PE of 167 and a forward PE of 60.

May your Halloween portfolio be a treat and not a trick.

Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.

How to Get $5 from Amazon for Free (Today Only)

Amazon (AMZN) is having a special promotion, today July 17 only, whereby if you buy an Amazon gift card of at least $25 or more for someone (including yourself), you can receive $5 in credit for future purchases.

This is like receiving an immediate 20% return on your money, with no risk, since you will probably spend at least $30 on Amazon at some point

The only catch is that you have to be an Amazon Prime member. Also, when you check out, you need to enter the promotion cade:

GCPRIME16

before you click on the Order button.

More information about the gift cards can be found at:

Amazon gift card

Would You Pay $40,000 for a Kramer Action Figure on Amazon?

Amazon (AMZN) sells a lot of stuff, some things that you never knew existed. For example, do you remember the Kramer character from the Seinfeld TV show?

One toy company has made an action figure out of him. The Funko Vinyl Idolz Seinfeld Kramer Action Figure is currently available on Amazon, but at a price.

At the time this was written, you could buy this eight inch tall toy that comes in a window display box for only $40,475.26.

What a bargain!

It’s Not a Dead Body in Your Trunk, It’s an Amazon Package

If you haven’t heard yet, Amazon (AMZN) has come up with a new service called Amazon Key, which allows you to have your package deliveries right to your car or truck. This is just one of several new ways that Amazon has come up with to benefit its customers.

It doesn’t matter where you are parked, it could be home or work, but for Prime members, the packages can be placed in the trunk of your car. Of course, you get real time notification. And it’s probably a safer place to put it than leaving it outside your front door.

If you have a Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, or Volvo vehicle from 2015 or later, with a connected car service, you are probably eligible. The service is presently available in certain cities.

To set it up, all you need to do is download the Amazon Key App. The cost is free. More info is available at the Amazon website.

Is Your Living Trust Renting Your Safe Deposit Box? If Not, Maybe You Should Consider It

by Fred Fuld III

First, I am not an attorney. Second, I am not giving legal advice. What I am doing is giving you suggestions on what you should discuss with your estate attorney.

If you are reading this article, you most likely already know what a revocable living trust is, so I don’t need to mention anything regarding these trusts. Plus much of this information on living trusts can be found on numerous websites.

Many people save their estate paperwork in their safe deposit boxes, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and so forth. Other items that may be in the boxes such as jewelry, coins, stamps, gold, silver, collectibles, and cash.

Don’t Let Your Safe Deposit Box Get Drilled Without Your Knowledge

One issue you should be aware of. Apparently, banks have started drilling boxes and removing contents of boxes rented by customers without the customer’s knowledge, for which the banks claim that they din’t have all the account information of their customers (primarily the Social Security number). However, according to a report by CBS SF Bay Area last year, several of these customers had proof, as shown on the original rental agreements, that the bank did have the Social Security numbers. Clients claimed that the banks lost and damaged many thousand of dollars of property because of this.

It may be a good idea to inventory everything in your safe box, and even take pictures of what is in in, and keep those records outside the box.

Can and Should You Put Your Safe Deposit Box Rental in Your Living Trust?

So what about the living trust issue? If everything in the safe deposit box is supposed to be part of the trust, it is probably a good idea to rent the safe deposit box in the name of your living trust. Consult your attorney, as laws differ from state to state.

As a matter fo fact, the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys recommends to their members that they discuss with their clients the benefits of transferring the rental of a safe deposit box to a living trust.

Your biggest problem in doing this is whether or not your bank will allow you to do this, as some banks don’t want to go through the hassle. You will, of course, need to bring in your Certification of Trust to make the change.

If your bank doesn’t want to allow this rental registration, you can ask your attorney to contact the bank on your behalf, or find another bank.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I want to reemphasize the fact that you must talk to your attorney about the advantages and disadvantages of making this change, and the best way  to proceed with the bank. Your attorney may even have alternative banks that he or she could recommend, if your bank is problematic.

Special Note: If you are wondering how I came up with the idea for this article, there was a short scene in the Bosch TV Show on Amazon (AMZN) that referred to it which I saw when I was watching one of the episodes last night.