Insider Selling: ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Sells 311 Shares of Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel sold 311 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.69, for a total transaction of $27,582.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,058,611.53. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of ePlus stock traded down $2.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.91. 156,154 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 157,284. The stock has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $88.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.66. ePlus inc. has a 12 month low of $53.83 and a 12 month high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.60 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Equities research analysts forecast that ePlus inc. will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of ePlus

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLUS. CSM Advisors LLC increased its position in ePlus by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 12,258 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 77,846.2% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 10,133 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 10,120 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,287 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 2,271 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ePlus during the fourth quarter worth $233,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in ePlus by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 21,310 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,869,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.