Insider Selling: ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Sells $182,006.10 in Stock

Key Points

• ePlus COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,935 shares at an average price of $94.06, generating $182,006.10. He retained 69,236 shares valued at approximately $6.5 million.
• ePlus shares fell to $90.99 in Thursday trading, though the company recently exceeded quarterly expectations with earnings of $1.00 per share and revenue of $581.63 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.27, equivalent to a $1.08 annualized payout and a 1.2% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Reduce,” including one Hold and one Sell rating.

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,935 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total transaction of $182,006.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 69,236 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,512,338.16. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS traded down $2.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $90.99. 323,088 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 206,157. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $84.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.13. ePlus inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $95.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.02.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $581.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.25 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 11.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This is an increase from ePlus's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. ePlus's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PLUS. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ePlus by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 161,166 shares of the software maker's stock worth $14,134,000 after purchasing an additional 13,369 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in ePlus by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,815 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $4,489,000 after purchasing an additional 20,163 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new position in ePlus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,511,000. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in ePlus by 74.9% in the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 69,187 shares of the software maker's stock worth $6,068,000 after purchasing an additional 29,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in ePlus by 130.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,487 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLUS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research cut ePlus from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Reduce".

About ePlus

ePlus Inc NASDAQ: PLUS is a technology solutions provider that helps enterprises and public-sector organizations maximize the value of their information technology investments. The company specializes in designing, implementing and managing complex IT infrastructures, with a focus on security, cloud computing, data center modernization and unified communications. By combining consulting services with software license management and hardware procurement, ePlus delivers end-to-end solutions that align with its clients' strategic objectives.

The company's offerings include cybersecurity assessments and managed security services, hybrid and public cloud deployments, network architecture and optimization, and collaboration platforms.

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.