Retirement Systems of Alabama Acquires 149,762 Shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) by 16.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,061,290 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock after purchasing an additional 149,762 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Akamai Technologies were worth $85,434,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AKAM. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Akamai Technologies by 0.3% in the first quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 328,987 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $26,483,000 after buying an additional 828 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 17,597 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Akamai Technologies by 2.9% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,302 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in Akamai Technologies by 23.4% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,548 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 3,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. acquired a new stake in Akamai Technologies in the first quarter worth $265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Adam Karon sold 3,927 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total transaction of $333,873.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $918,981.18. This trade represents a 26.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kim Salem-Jackson sold 13,157 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.33, for a total transaction of $1,004,273.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,575 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,326,079.75. This represents a 23.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Akamai Technologies Stock Up 0.0%

Akamai Technologies stock opened at $78.70 on Friday. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.51 and a fifty-two week high of $106.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $85.80. The stock has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.77.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 14.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. Research analysts predict that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on AKAM shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $107.00 to $105.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Akamai Technologies in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America lowered Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $125.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Akamai Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.25.

About Akamai Technologies

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.