Sterling Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM)

Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) by 58.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,247 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in EPAM Systems were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of EPAM Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $173,053,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $166,906,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of EPAM Systems by 96.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 818,881 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $191,471,000 after purchasing an additional 401,355 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,699,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC boosted its position in EPAM Systems by 48.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 217,960 shares in the last quarter. 91.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EPAM Systems Price Performance

EPAM Systems stock opened at $147.50 on Thursday. EPAM Systems, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.15 and a 1 year high of $269.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a current ratio of 2.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $191.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.50. The company has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.69.

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.75 by ($0.52). EPAM Systems had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 9.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that EPAM Systems, Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EPAM shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of EPAM Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on EPAM Systems from $305.00 to $288.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com cut EPAM Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 12th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on EPAM Systems from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, EPAM Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.93.

EPAM Systems Profile

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.