Raymond James Financial Inc. Sells 31,825 Shares of ePlus inc. $PLUS

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. reduced its stake in ePlus inc. by 27.1%, now owning 85,697 shares worth $5.23 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their holdings, with BNP Paribas Financial Markets significantly boosting its stake by 532%.
• ePlus recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, representing an annualized yield of 1.4%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lowered its stake in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,697 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 31,825 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of ePlus worth $5,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of ePlus by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,264 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $993,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Vista Finance LLC lifted its holdings in ePlus by 7.8% in the first quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 4,606 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $281,000 after buying an additional 333 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in ePlus by 377.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 712 shares of the software maker's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of ePlus by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 14,979 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,107,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in ePlus by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 19,979 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,219,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLUS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold".

ePlus Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of PLUS stock traded up $1.15 on Wednesday, reaching $72.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 153,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 145,732. The company has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.17. ePlus inc. has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $106.98. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $69.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.85.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 26th. ePlus's payout ratio is currently 22.42%.

ePlus Profile

ePlus inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions that enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; managed services or infrastructure and cloud; and enhanced maintenance support, service desk, storage-as-a-service, cloud hosted and managed, and managed security services; and professional, staff augmentation, cloud consulting, consulting, and security services.