Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM)

Vanguard Group Inc. cut its stake in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,953,693 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 302 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of EPAM Systems worth $1,625,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of EPAM Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $166,906,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in EPAM Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,699,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lifted its stake in EPAM Systems by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 664,286 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $155,323,000 after acquiring an additional 217,960 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in EPAM Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,916,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of EPAM Systems by 399.1% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 116,350 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $27,205,000 after purchasing an additional 93,039 shares during the last quarter. 91.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EPAM Systems Price Performance

Shares of EPAM opened at $174.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 2.96. EPAM Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.43 and a fifty-two week high of $281.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.78. The company has a market capitalization of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.61.

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.75 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. EPAM Systems had a net margin of 9.61% and a return on equity of 14.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that EPAM Systems, Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on EPAM. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on EPAM Systems from $305.00 to $288.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on EPAM Systems from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded EPAM Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $235.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of EPAM Systems in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, EPAM Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $262.47.

Insider Activity at EPAM Systems

In other news, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,078 shares of EPAM Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $277,046.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,009,174. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About EPAM Systems

EPAM Systems, Inc provides digital platform engineering and software development services worldwide. The company offers engineering services, including requirements analysis and platform selection, customization, cross-platform migration, implementation, and integration; infrastructure management services, such as software development, testing, performance tuning, deployment, maintenance, and support services.