The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stake in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,303 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,082 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of EPAM Systems worth $7,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new stake in EPAM Systems in the second quarter valued at about $631,000. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 18.9% in the 2nd quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 32,724 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $5,744,000 after buying an additional 5,200 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 261.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 79,039 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $14,719,000 after buying an additional 57,180 shares during the period. Distillate Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $14,091,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in EPAM Systems by 107.1% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 174,813 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $32,900,000 after acquiring an additional 90,411 shares during the period. 91.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

EPAM Systems Price Performance

EPAM Systems stock opened at $198.35 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $201.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.84 and a quick ratio of 4.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.45. EPAM Systems, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.43 and a 12-month high of $317.50.

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The information technology services provider reported $2.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. EPAM Systems had a net margin of 8.86% and a return on equity of 14.31%. EPAM Systems’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.21 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that EPAM Systems, Inc. will post 8.07 earnings per share for the current year.

EPAM Systems announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EPAM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on EPAM Systems in a report on Monday, June 24th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of EPAM Systems from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of EPAM Systems from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of EPAM Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on EPAM Systems from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.32.

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.