Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 10,010 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $753,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ePlus by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC raised its holdings in ePlus by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in ePlus by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 904 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in ePlus by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,544 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $662,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its holdings in ePlus by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 3,859 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ PLUS opened at $89.10 on Tuesday. ePlus inc. has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $93.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $84.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.02.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 5.24%.The company had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.25 million. Research analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. 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%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on PLUS shares. Zacks Research cut ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Insider Activity at ePlus

In other news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total value of $89,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,014,532.60. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock valued at $115,757 over the last quarter. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

ePlus Profile

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.