ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel Sells 1,000 Shares of Company Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.68, for a total transaction of $94,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 65,036 shares in the company, valued at $6,157,608.48. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of PLUS stock traded up $2.15 on Tuesday, hitting $96.61. The stock had a trading volume of 213,978 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,393. The business has a 50 day moving average of $92.05 and a 200 day moving average of $85.85. ePlus inc. has a 12-month low of $73.08 and a 12-month high of $98.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.95.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.35. ePlus had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $667.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.10 million. As a group, research analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLUS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, ePlus currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of ePlus

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ePlus during the 2nd quarter valued at $337,929,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in ePlus by 118.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 579,047 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $43,573,000 after purchasing an additional 313,674 shares in the last quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in ePlus in the 2nd quarter worth about $22,888,250. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in ePlus in the 2nd quarter worth about $18,210,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in ePlus by 2,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 154,737 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $13,928,000 after buying an additional 148,112 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.