Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 6,785 Shares of Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:AKAM - Free Report) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,458 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,785 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Akamai Technologies worth $20,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in AKAM. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Akamai Technologies by 25.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,732,750 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $156,088,000 after purchasing an additional 347,626 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Akamai Technologies by 5.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,197,009 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock worth $423,066,000 after acquiring an additional 202,746 shares during the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Akamai Technologies during the second quarter valued at $15,314,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Akamai Technologies by 33.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 651,400 shares of the technology infrastructure company's stock valued at $58,678,000 after acquiring an additional 162,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Distillate Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Akamai Technologies in the second quarter worth about $14,130,000. Institutional investors own 94.28% of the company's stock.

Akamai Technologies Stock Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:AKAM traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.97. 724,920 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,668,597. The stock has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a PE ratio of 28.69, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.65. Akamai Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.70 and a twelve month high of $129.17. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $96.78 and a 200 day moving average of $96.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 1.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Akamai Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $121.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Monday, December 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Akamai Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Akamai Technologies from $115.00 to $112.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Akamai Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Akamai Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $116.85.

Insider Activity at Akamai Technologies

In other news, CFO Edward J. Mcgowan sold 10,782 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.71, for a total transaction of $1,064,291.22. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,255,196.36. This trade represents a 45.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director William Raymond Wagner sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.38, for a total value of $93,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,719 shares in the company, valued at $1,467,840.22. The trade was a 5.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,282 shares of company stock valued at $1,733,716. 2.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.