PGGM Investments Increases Holdings in Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM)

PGGM Investments raised its position in Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) by 44.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,036 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,293 shares during the quarter. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Akamai Technologies were worth $6,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AKAM. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 34,816 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 748 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new stake in Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 144.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 562 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Akamai Technologies in a research report on Monday, July 8th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $117.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Guggenheim upgraded Akamai Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $128.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $114.00 to $112.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Craig Hallum decreased their price objective on Akamai Technologies from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Akamai Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.44.

Akamai Technologies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of Akamai Technologies stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $94.56. 1,220,591 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,248,534. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $87.59 and a fifty-two week high of $129.17. The company has a current ratio of 3.25, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $92.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.08. The stock has a market cap of $14.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 0.67.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $986.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $989.03 million. Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 16.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Akamai Technologies declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 9th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology infrastructure company to reacquire up to 13.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Akamai Technologies

In other news, CTO Robert Blumofe sold 3,000 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.34, for a total value of $265,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer now directly owns 24,729 shares in the company, valued at $2,184,559.86. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO F Thomson Leighton purchased 22,000 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $92.68 per share, for a total transaction of $2,038,960.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 2,342,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $217,114,114.28. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CTO Robert Blumofe sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.34, for a total transaction of $265,020.00. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer now owns 24,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,184,559.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,000 shares of company stock worth $826,460. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Akamai Technologies Company Profile

Akamai Technologies, Inc provides cloud computing, security, and content delivery services in the United States and internationally. The company offers cloud solutions to keep infrastructure, websites, applications, application programming interfaces, and users safe from various cyberattacks and online threats while enhancing performance.