First Trust Advisors LP Purchases 313,674 Shares of ePlus inc. $PLUS

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 118.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 579,047 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 313,674 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in ePlus were worth $43,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in ePlus by 361.9% in the 2nd 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 period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in ePlus by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 904 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in ePlus during the fourth quarter worth $108,000. US Bancorp DE lifted 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at $138,000. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PLUS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research lowered shares of ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $89.10 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $84.22 and its 200 day moving average is $83.04. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.02. ePlus inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.11 and a fifty-two week high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $581.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.25 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 11.36%. As a group, research analysts predict that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a boost from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Insider Activity at ePlus

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total value of $89,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,748 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,014,532.60. This represents a 1.76% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $115,757. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

About ePlus

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.