Fifth Third Bancorp Raises Position in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 29,390.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,456 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,251 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in ePlus were worth $4,549,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PLUS. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of ePlus by 361.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in ePlus by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 904 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in ePlus during the fourth quarter worth $108,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in ePlus during the fourth quarter worth $138,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in ePlus by 856.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,731 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PLUS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research cut shares of ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ePlus presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Insider Activity at ePlus

In other news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total transaction of $89,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 55,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,014,532.60. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $115,757 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of PLUS opened at $89.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.02. ePlus inc. has a 12-month low of $62.11 and a 12-month high of $93.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.03.

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

ePlus Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. ePlus’s payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

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.