Elaine Marion Sells 1,668 Shares of ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Elaine Marion sold 1,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.12, for a total value of $158,660.16. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 89,773 shares in the company, valued at $8,539,207.76. This trade represents a 1.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

ePlus Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $90.35 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $85.47 and a 200 day moving average of $83.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.00. ePlus inc. has a 1-year low of $62.42 and a 1-year high of $98.14.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $649.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.95 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 4.91%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio is 23.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amundi increased its position in shares of ePlus by 333.0% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,361 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,123 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ePlus by 20.4% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 45,612 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 7,742 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,666 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $956,000 after purchasing an additional 687 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 103.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 226,399 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $13,817,000 after purchasing an additional 114,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 628.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,066 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PLUS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus Inc (NASDAQ:PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients’ strategic objectives.

The company’s offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.