Comerica Bank Grows Stock Holdings in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in ePlus by 74.9% in Q4, purchasing an additional 29,631 shares to hold 69,187 shares (about 0.26% of the company) valued at roughly $6.07 million.
• ePlus beat Q4 expectations, reporting $1.45 EPS vs. $1.01 expected and $614.77 million in revenue vs. $529.6 million expected, and it recently paid a $0.25 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.00, ~1.2% yield).
• Institutional ownership is very high at 93.8%; analysts are mixed (one Strong Buy, one Hold) but the MarketBeat average rating remains "Buy," while the stock has a $2.24 billion market cap and a P/E of 16.84.

Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Free Report) by 74.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 69,187 shares of the software maker's stock after purchasing an additional 29,631 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.26% of ePlus worth $6,068,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PLUS. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ePlus during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 47.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC purchased a new position in shares of ePlus during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 361.9% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 904 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ePlus Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of PLUS opened at $84.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $79.51 and a 200 day moving average of $83.01. ePlus inc. has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $614.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $529.60 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ePlus news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 311 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.69, for a total value of $27,582.59. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 57,037 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,058,611.53. The trade was a 0.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLUS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ePlus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research raised shares of ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of ePlus from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ePlus presently has an average rating of "Buy".

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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