17,228 Shares in ePlus inc. $PLUS Acquired by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial LLC initiated a new position of 17,228 shares in ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) during Q4, worth about $1.51 million, while institutional investors now hold roughly 93.8% of the company.
• ePlus posted a Q4 beat with EPS of $1.45 versus $1.01 expected and revenue of $614.77M versus $529.6M consensus, and analysts have an average "Buy" rating with a projected FY EPS of 4.74.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.25 (annualized $1.00, ~1.2% yield) and has seen mixed analyst moves and a recent insider sale of 400 shares, leaving insiders with about 1.93% ownership.

Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,228 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,511,000. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.07% of ePlus at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Comerica Bank grew its position in ePlus by 74.9% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 69,187 shares of the software maker's stock worth $6,068,000 after acquiring an additional 29,631 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in ePlus by 13.3% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,659 shares of the software maker's stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in ePlus by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,453,215 shares of the software maker's stock worth $215,147,000 after acquiring an additional 8,146 shares during the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC grew its position in ePlus by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 20,099 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 4,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in ePlus by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,166 shares of the software maker's stock worth $453,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ePlus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $84.69 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $79.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.01. ePlus inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $93.98. The company has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.01.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $529.60 million. On average, equities analysts predict that ePlus inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on PLUS. Wall Street Zen lowered ePlus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research raised ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded ePlus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy".

Insider Buying and Selling at ePlus

In other news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 400 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,049,491.40. This represents a 0.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ePlus 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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