ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel Sells 1,485 Shares of Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,485 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.52, for a total transaction of $146,302.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 60,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,986,863.36. The trade was a 2.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of PLUS stock traded down $0.69 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.44. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 180,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 215,374. ePlus inc. has a 1-year low of $73.08 and a 1-year high of $99.64. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $92.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.99. The company has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $667.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $636.10 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 11.93%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on PLUS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLUS. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of ePlus during the 2nd quarter worth about $5,186,000. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of ePlus by 2,235.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 154,737 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $13,928,000 after acquiring an additional 148,112 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in ePlus during the second quarter worth approximately $1,102,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in ePlus by 3.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,378 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $98,604,000 after purchasing an additional 48,158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in ePlus during the second quarter worth approximately $9,796,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

About ePlus

ePlus inc. is a technology solutions provider that helps businesses and public-sector organizations plan, acquire, implement and manage information technology. Its offerings include data center and cloud infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, collaboration tools, software and related professional and managed services. The company also provides financing solutions for technology purchases, including leasing and other equipment financing arrangements. Founded in 1990, ePlus serves customers across the United States and the United Kingdom.