The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New $1.10 Million Investment in ePlus inc. $PLUS

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 13,237 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,102,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of ePlus by 361.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in ePlus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $108,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in ePlus by 856.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,731 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in ePlus in the 4th quarter worth approximately $138,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in ePlus in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $150,000. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at ePlus

In related news, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 5,514 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.41, for a total value of $531,604.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,123,410.19. This trade represents a 6.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John E. Callies sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.09, for a total transaction of $44,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,648 shares in the company, valued at $1,818,882.32. This represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 13,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,301,128 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of ePlus stock opened at $92.10 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.97. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $88.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.67. ePlus inc. has a twelve month low of $69.25 and a twelve month high of $98.14.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $649.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.95 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 4.91%. On average, equities analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s payout ratio is presently 23.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PLUS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ePlus currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Company 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.