UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in ePlus inc. $PLUS

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC reduced its holdings in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,727 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 10,711 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in ePlus were worth $4,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PLUS. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of ePlus by 361.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in ePlus in the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in ePlus in the 4th quarter valued at $108,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in ePlus in the 4th quarter worth $138,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in ePlus by 856.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,731 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities 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 research note on Friday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Price Performance

NASDAQ PLUS opened at $88.29 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.97. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.82. ePlus inc. has a 1-year low of $69.25 and a 1-year high of $98.14.

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

ePlus Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Callies sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,818,882.32. This represents a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total transaction of $90,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 68,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,179,709.88. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 13,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,301,128 in the last 90 days. 2.20% of the stock is 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.