ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Elaine Marion Sells 2,818 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• ePlus CFO Elaine Marion sold 2,818 shares on July 29 at an average price of $95.22, for total proceeds of approximately $268,330.
• ePlus shares recently traded at $92.41, near their 52-week high of $95.64, while the company’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations with $1.00 in EPS and $581.63 million in revenue.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27 per share, but analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Reduce” rating and 93.8% of shares held by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) CFO Elaine Marion sold 2,818 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.22, for a total value of $268,329.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

ePlus Trading Up 1.6%

ePlus stock traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $92.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 325,667 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,980. The stock's fifty day moving average is $84.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $83.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.02. ePlus inc. has a 1 year low of $62.11 and a 1 year high of $95.64.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.25 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 5.24%. On average, equities analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 an increase from ePlus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus's payout ratio is presently 22.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, ePlus has a consensus rating of "Reduce".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUS. Amundi lifted its stake in ePlus by 333.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 5,361 shares of the software maker's stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 4,123 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in ePlus by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 45,612 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 7,742 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in ePlus by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,666 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in ePlus by 103.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 226,399 shares of the software maker's stock worth $13,817,000 after purchasing an additional 114,900 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in ePlus by 628.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,066 shares of the software maker's stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.