ePlus inc. $PLUS Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Inc.

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. reduced its stake in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Free Report) by 27.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 85,697 shares of the software maker's stock after selling 31,825 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.32% of ePlus worth $5,230,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 139,844 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $8,535,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 625.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of ePlus in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $968,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 71,660 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $5,294,000 after purchasing an additional 11,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,448,514 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $149,433,000 after purchasing an additional 11,051 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on PLUS shares. Zacks Research upgraded ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold".

ePlus Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of ePlus stock traded down $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 158,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 187,552. ePlus inc. has a 12-month low of $53.83 and a 12-month high of $106.98. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $69.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.75.

ePlus Announces Dividend

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

ePlus Company 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.