Insider Selling: ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Sells $91,460.00 in Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.46, for a total value of $91,460.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 66,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,039,652.56. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

ePlus Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ PLUS opened at $97.13 on Friday. ePlus inc. has a 12 month low of $73.08 and a 12 month high of $99.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $92.63 and its 200 day moving average is $85.99.

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

ePlus Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLUS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in ePlus in the second quarter worth about $337,929,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in ePlus by 118.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 579,047 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $43,573,000 after purchasing an additional 313,674 shares in the last quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of ePlus in the 2nd quarter valued at $22,888,250. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of ePlus in the second quarter valued at about $18,210,000. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in ePlus by 2,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 154,737 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $13,928,000 after buying an additional 148,112 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About ePlus

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.