Strs Ohio Invests $726,000 in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has made a new investment in ePlus inc. by acquiring 11,900 shares valued at approximately $726,000.
• Multiple institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in ePlus, with notable increases of up to 625.5% during the first quarter.
• Shares of ePlus recently traded at $74.08 with a market capitalization of $1.97 billion and a dividend yield of 1.3%.

Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 11,900 shares of the software maker's stock, valued at approximately $726,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 33.6% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 632 shares of the software maker's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 377.9% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 712 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 625.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,023 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,503 shares of the software maker's stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of ePlus by 628.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,066 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 2,645 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ePlus Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of PLUS stock traded down $0.18 on Tuesday, reaching $74.72. 8,569 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 203,277. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.43. ePlus inc. has a 1-year low of $53.83 and a 1-year high of $106.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.17.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. ePlus's dividend payout ratio is 22.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, ePlus currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

About ePlus

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.