ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Sells $43,761.70 in Stock

Key Points

• ePlus COO Darren Raiguel sold 470 shares at an average price of $93.11, generating $43,761.70 and reducing his ownership by 0.69% to 67,182 shares.
• ePlus reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.28 versus the $1.19 consensus and revenue of $649.11 million versus expectations of $639.95 million.
• The stock traded near $92.37, while ePlus declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27, equivalent to a $1.08 annualized payout and a 1.2% yield; analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) COO Darren Raiguel sold 470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.11, for a total value of $43,761.70. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 67,182 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,255,316.02. This trade represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of PLUS traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $92.37. The stock had a trading volume of 347,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 208,117. The firm has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $89.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.16. ePlus inc. has a 52 week low of $69.25 and a 52 week high of $98.14.

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

ePlus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. ePlus's payout ratio is 23.63%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUS. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ePlus during the second quarter worth about $337,929,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in ePlus by 118.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 579,047 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $43,573,000 after purchasing an additional 313,674 shares in the last quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,681,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in ePlus during the second quarter valued at approximately $18,210,000. Finally, Medina Value Partners LLC lifted its position in ePlus by 410.6% during the fourth quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 196,285 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $17,214,000 after purchasing an additional 157,843 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLUS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research raised shares of 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, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

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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