Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lessened its stake in Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,702 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock after selling 761 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Akamai Technologies were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AKAM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $325,242,000. Jericho Capital Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Akamai Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $218,201,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Akamai Technologies by 123.8% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 736,236 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $78,439,000 after purchasing an additional 407,321 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in Akamai Technologies by 40.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 790,376 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $84,387,000 after purchasing an additional 228,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in Akamai Technologies by 22.0% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,266,406 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $134,923,000 after purchasing an additional 228,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Akamai Technologies from $150.00 to $135.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Akamai Technologies from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Craig Hallum reduced their target price on Akamai Technologies from $120.00 to $110.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Friday, May 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $114.00.

Akamai Technologies Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Akamai Technologies stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $94.48. The company had a trading volume of 61,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,731. The company has a 50 day moving average of $102.54 and a 200 day moving average of $111.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 3.25 and a current ratio of 3.25. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $86.94 and a 52-week high of $129.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.72.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 10th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.64 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.03. Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 15.02% and a net margin of 16.12%. The business had revenue of $986.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $989.03 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Akamai Technologies

In other Akamai Technologies news, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.73, for a total transaction of $489,285.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,624,208.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.73, for a total transaction of $489,285.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,624,208.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO F Thomson Leighton purchased 22,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.68 per share, for a total transaction of $2,038,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,342,621 shares in the company, valued at $217,114,114.28. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,243 shares of company stock worth $3,441,153. 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.