ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Director John Callies Sells 500 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: Director John Callies sold 500 ePlus shares for approximately $44,045, reducing his direct ownership by 2.36% to 20,648 shares.
• Quarterly performance: ePlus exceeded analyst expectations, reporting $1.28 in earnings per share versus a $1.19 estimate and revenue of $649.11 million versus a $639.95 million forecast.
• Stock and outlook: Shares fell 2.0% to $86.78, while analysts maintain an average “Hold” rating. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, yielding about 1.2% annually.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) Director John Callies sold 500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.09, for a total value of $44,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,818,882.32. The trade was a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

ePlus Trading Down 2.0%

PLUS traded down $1.75 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $86.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 202,358 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,232. ePlus inc. has a 52-week low of $69.07 and a 52-week high of $98.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.00.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. ePlus had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The business had revenue of $649.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.95 million. On average, equities analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLUS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in ePlus during the second quarter worth approximately $337,929,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,453,215 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $215,147,000 after acquiring an additional 8,146 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in ePlus by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,378 shares of the software maker's stock worth $98,604,000 after purchasing an additional 48,158 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in ePlus by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,019,061 shares of the software maker's stock worth $73,474,000 after purchasing an additional 8,956 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in ePlus by 118.2% in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLUS has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".

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.

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