ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Stock: Insider Darren Raiguel Sells 2,783 Shares

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel sold 2,783 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.12, for a total value of $273,067.96. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 62,253 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,108,264.36. This represents a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $96.44. 180,683 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 215,374. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. ePlus inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.08 and a fifty-two week high of $99.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $92.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.99.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $667.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.10 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 11.93%. Equities research analysts predict that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. ePlus’s payout ratio is 22.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PLUS shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in ePlus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $337,929,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in ePlus by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,378 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $98,604,000 after purchasing an additional 48,158 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in ePlus by 2.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 942,826 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $84,864,000 after purchasing an additional 22,741 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its position in shares of ePlus by 29.4% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 319,166 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $28,857,000 after purchasing an additional 72,511 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ePlus during the second quarter worth about $22,888,250. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus inc. is a technology solutions provider that helps businesses and public-sector organizations plan, acquire, implement and manage information technology. Its offerings include data center and cloud infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, collaboration tools, software and related professional and managed services. The company also provides financing solutions for technology purchases, including leasing and other equipment financing arrangements. Founded in 1990, ePlus serves customers across the United States and the United Kingdom.