ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Sells $268,329.96 in Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Elaine Marion sold 2,818 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.22, for a total transaction of $268,329.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLUS opened at $92.41 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $84.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $83.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00. ePlus inc. has a 12-month low of $62.11 and a 12-month high of $95.64.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 5.24%.The company had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.25 million. On average, equities analysts predict that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Institutional Trading of ePlus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC grew its holdings in shares of ePlus by 5.9% in the first quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in ePlus by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,544 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $662,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al increased its stake in ePlus by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 3,859 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in ePlus by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 31,946 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PLUS. Zacks Research cut shares of ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Friday, July 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

About ePlus

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.