Insider Selling: ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Sells $466,429.86 in Stock

Key Points

• ePlus CFO Elaine Marion sold 4,842 shares at an average price of $96.33, generating $466,429.86 and reducing her stake by 5.76% to 79,259 shares.
• ePlus shares fell 2.2% to $94.75, though the company recently exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting EPS of $1.28 versus the $1.19 consensus estimate.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.8% of the company; ePlus also pays a $0.27 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.1% annually.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) CFO Elaine Marion sold 4,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $466,429.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 79,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,635,019.47. This trade represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

ePlus Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS traded down $2.18 on Wednesday, hitting $94.75. The company had a trading volume of 270,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,285. The stock has a market cap 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $90.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $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 earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $649.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $639.95 million. ePlus had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 11.51%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PLUS. Zacks Research upgraded ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold".

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in ePlus in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $337,929,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of ePlus by 118.2% during 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 bought a new position in ePlus during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $22,888,250. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of ePlus in the 2nd quarter worth about $18,210,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of ePlus in the second quarter worth approximately $9,796,000. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ePlus

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.