Empirical Finance LLC Buys 181 Shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,681 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Akamai Technologies were worth $618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AKAM. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Akamai Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Akamai Technologies by 43.7% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology infrastructure company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. 94.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akamai Technologies news, Director William Raymond Wagner sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.54, for a total value of $93,540.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,358,107.26. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director William Raymond Wagner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.54, for a total transaction of $93,540.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,519 shares in the company, valued at $1,358,107.26. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Anthony P. Williams sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.58, for a total transaction of $467,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,998.04. 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. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AKAM opened at $95.14 on Friday. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $87.59 and a 1 year high of $129.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 3.25 and a quick ratio of 3.25. The company’s 50-day moving average is $92.29 and its 200 day moving average is $105.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 0.67.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 10th. The technology infrastructure company reported $1.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 15.02%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Akamai Technologies announced that its board has approved a share buyback 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 reacquire up to 13.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AKAM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $117.00 to $106.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $138.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $92.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.76.

Akamai Technologies 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.