Swedbank AB Acquires 125,000 Shares of ePlus inc. $PLUS

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its holdings in ePlus inc. by 38.5%, acquiring 125,000 additional shares in the second quarter, bringing its total ownership to about 450,000 shares valued at approximately $32.4 million.
• Institutional investors own a notable 93.80% of ePlus, with other firms like Vanguard Group and Principal Financial Group also boosting their positions in the company.
• Analyst ratings for ePlus have varied, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it from a "buy" to a "hold," while Zacks Research upgraded it from a "strong sell" to a "hold," resulting in a consensus rating of "hold."

Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Free Report) by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 450,000 shares of the software maker's stock after buying an additional 125,000 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned about 1.70% of ePlus worth $32,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PLUS. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of ePlus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".

ePlus Stock Down 0.5%

PLUS stock traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $74.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 716,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 160,633. ePlus inc. has a 52 week low of $53.83 and a 52 week high of $106.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $70.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.35.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 26th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 26th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. ePlus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.