Insider Selling: ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Sells $15,016.32 in Stock

Key Points

• ePlus CFO Elaine Marion sold 158 shares at an average price of $95.04, totaling $15,016.32. She continues to own 84,101 shares valued at roughly $7.99 million.
• ePlus reported quarterly earnings of $1.28 per share, beating estimates of $1.19, while revenue of $649.11 million also exceeded expectations.
• The stock traded near $94.75, with a market capitalization of approximately $2.47 billion. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, and institutional investors own 93.8% of outstanding shares.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) CFO Elaine Marion sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total transaction of $15,016.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 84,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,992,959.04. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $94.75. The stock had a trading volume of 270,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,285. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.96. The firm's 50 day moving average is $90.23 and its 200-day moving average is $86.26. ePlus inc. has a 1 year low of $70.75 and a 1 year high of $98.14.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $649.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $639.95 million. Analysts forecast that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. ePlus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.63%.

Institutional Trading of ePlus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLUS. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in ePlus in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,186,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in ePlus during the 2nd quarter worth $1,102,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in ePlus by 3.8% in the first 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. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in ePlus in the second quarter valued at $9,796,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ePlus in the first quarter valued at about $3,601,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLUS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus inc. NASDAQ: PLUS is a technology solutions provider that helps organizations design, implement, and manage information technology environments. The company serves commercial businesses, government agencies, and other institutions with solutions spanning networking, data centers, cloud computing, cybersecurity, collaboration, and digital infrastructure.

Through its technology and professional services businesses, ePlus provides hardware, software, consulting, systems integration, managed services, and IT asset management.

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