Renaissance Technologies LLC Takes $474,000 Position in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,300 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PLUS. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in ePlus by 361.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of ePlus during the fourth quarter worth about $108,000. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of ePlus by 856.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,731 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 1,550 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in ePlus in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLUS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of PLUS stock opened at $86.78 on Tuesday. ePlus inc. has a 1-year low of $69.07 and a 1-year high of $98.14. The stock has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $86.38 and a 200-day moving average of $83.44.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $649.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.95 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 4.91%. Sell-side analysts forecast that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total transaction of $90,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 68,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,179,709.88. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 5,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.41, for a total transaction of $531,604.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,123,410.19. The trade was a 6.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 13,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,301,128. 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.