Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM) Shares Purchased by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM - Free Report) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,215,735 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock after purchasing an additional 58,013 shares during the period. Akamai Technologies comprises approximately 0.9% of Earnest Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Earnest Partners LLC owned about 1.47% of Akamai Technologies worth $211,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in AKAM. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its stake in Akamai Technologies by 38.8% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 554 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Akamai Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $57,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Akamai Technologies by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 702 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the period. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 200.0% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 708 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. 94.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Akamai Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AKAM traded up $0.53 during trading on Thursday, reaching $81.11. 1,159,804 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,932,458. The firm has a market cap of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $67.51 and a fifty-two week high of $106.80.

Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ:AKAM - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. Akamai Technologies had a return on equity of 14.35% and a net margin of 12.65%. As a group, analysts predict that Akamai Technologies, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Akamai Technologies news, COO Adam Karon sold 6,431 shares of Akamai Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.49, for a total value of $517,631.19. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 14,239 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,097.11. The trade was a 31.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO F Thomson Leighton bought 37,670 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $79.58 per share, with a total value of $2,997,778.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 137,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,929,676.36. This trade represents a 37.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,394 shares of company stock valued at $2,653,043 in the last 90 days. 2.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AKAM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $107.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Akamai Technologies in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Craig Hallum lowered shares of Akamai Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $90.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Akamai Technologies from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $104.75.

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.