The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Position in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) by 21.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 45,188 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,885 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in EPAM Systems were worth $8,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in EPAM Systems by 5,000.0% during the 2nd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 153 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of EPAM Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in EPAM Systems by 181.8% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 155 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in EPAM Systems by 101.0% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 211 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in EPAM Systems in the third quarter valued at $44,000. 91.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on EPAM shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of EPAM Systems from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of EPAM Systems in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on EPAM Systems from $245.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $222.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Scotiabank raised shares of EPAM Systems from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.20.

Insider Activity at EPAM Systems

In related news, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,000 shares of EPAM Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total transaction of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,886,132. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

EPAM Systems Stock Performance

Shares of EPAM stock opened at $240.47 on Wednesday. EPAM Systems, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.43 and a 52-week high of $317.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $212.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $200.05. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.49.

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

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.