Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 7,035 Shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 102,449 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,035 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Akamai Technologies worth $9,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AKAM. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 8,860 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies by 8.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 6,475 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $654,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Akamai Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $327,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new position in Akamai Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $579,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies during the third quarter worth about $325,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.28% of the company’s stock.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

NASDAQ:AKAM opened at $80.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $89.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $94.70. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $75.50 and a one year high of $109.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. Akamai Technologies had a net margin of 12.65% and a return on equity of 14.35%. Equities analysts expect that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on AKAM shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on Akamai Technologies in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $100.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America downgraded shares of Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $125.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $102.00 to $95.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Akamai Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $125.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Friday, February 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $106.55.

Insider Transactions at Akamai Technologies

In other news, CEO F Thomson Leighton acquired 37,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $79.58 per share, with a total value of $2,997,778.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,342 shares in the company, valued at $10,929,676.36. This represents a 37.79 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mani Sundaram sold 10,683 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.52, for a total value of $924,293.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,988 shares in the company, valued at $2,075,441.76. The trade was a 30.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,394 shares of company stock worth $3,019,323. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.

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.