Kentucky Retirement Systems Reduces Stake in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,966 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock after selling 403 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in EPAM Systems were worth $789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geneva Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in EPAM Systems by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geneva Capital Management LLC now owns 71,281 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $14,187,000 after buying an additional 4,027 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EPAM Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $8,195,000. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of EPAM Systems by 1,741.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 36,694 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $7,303,000 after purchasing an additional 34,701 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of EPAM Systems by 251.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,128 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 13,690 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of EPAM Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $734,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EPAM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank upgraded EPAM Systems from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on EPAM Systems from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on EPAM Systems from $225.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on EPAM Systems from $245.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded EPAM Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.20.

EPAM Systems Stock Down 2.5 %

EPAM Systems stock opened at $227.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.55, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.70. EPAM Systems, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.43 and a 12 month high of $317.50. The company has a current ratio of 4.56, a quick ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

EPAM Systems declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, August 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 24,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,886,132. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.