ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel Sells 139 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• ePlus COO Darren Raiguel sold 139 shares at an average price of $93.38, generating $12,979.82; his remaining stake was 67,043 shares, a 0.21% reduction.
• ePlus shares traded at $91.10, with the stock near its 52-week high and above both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• The company exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.28 in EPS and $649.11 million in revenue. ePlus also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.27, while analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) COO Darren Raiguel sold 139 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.38, for a total value of $12,979.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 67,043 shares in the company, valued at $6,260,475.34. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

ePlus Price Performance

PLUS stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.10. The company had a trading volume of 950,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,592. ePlus inc. has a 1-year low of $69.25 and a 1-year high of $98.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $89.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $649.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.95 million. ePlus had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 11.51%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. ePlus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PLUS. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold".

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in ePlus by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,378 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $98,604,000 after purchasing an additional 48,158 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ePlus during the 1st quarter worth $3,601,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 579,047 shares of the software maker's stock worth $43,573,000 after buying an additional 313,674 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of ePlus in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,679,000. Finally, BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in ePlus during the second quarter valued at about $337,929,000. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ePlus

ePlus inc. NASDAQ: PLUS is a technology solutions provider that helps organizations design, implement and manage information technology environments. The company provides products and services spanning data center infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, cloud computing, collaboration and unified communications, and digital transformation. Its offerings include hardware, software, professional services and ongoing managed services.

ePlus works with businesses, government agencies, educational institutions and healthcare organizations.

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