ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Shares Cross Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Technical drop: ePlus shares fell below their 200-day moving average of $82.13, trading as low as $80.47 and last at $80.79 (down ~2.7%) on volume of 124,212 shares.
• Quarterly beat but mixed analyst reaction: the company reported EPS of $1.45 versus $1.01 expected and revenue of $614.77M versus $529.6M, while brokers issued both downgrades and an upgrade—leaving the consensus rating around "Buy."
• Dividend and ownership: ePlus pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend ($1.00 annual, ~1.2% yield), insiders own 1.93% (COO sold 400 shares) and institutional investors hold about 93.8% of the stock.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report)'s stock price passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $82.13 and traded as low as $80.47. ePlus shares last traded at $80.79, with a volume of 124,212 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on PLUS. Weiss Ratings lowered ePlus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday. Wall Street Zen lowered ePlus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Zacks Research raised ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy".

ePlus Trading Down 2.7%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.44 and a 200-day moving average of $82.13. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.01.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.44. ePlus had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.63%.The firm had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.60 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus's payout ratio is 19.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ePlus news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.05, for a total value of $35,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,491.40. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in ePlus by 0.3% in 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 8,956 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ePlus by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,006,035 shares of the software maker's stock worth $71,439,000 after buying an additional 78,160 shares during the last quarter. AltraVue Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of ePlus by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. AltraVue Capital LLC now owns 1,002,883 shares of the software maker's stock worth $71,215,000 after buying an additional 7,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of ePlus by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 471,405 shares of the software maker's stock worth $33,474,000 after buying an additional 39,012 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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