Insider Selling: ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Sells $531,604.74 in Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Elaine 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 84,259 shares in the company, valued at $8,123,410.19. The trade was a 6.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of PLUS stock traded down $2.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $94.56. The stock had a trading volume of 478,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,586. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.30. ePlus inc. has a twelve month low of $62.42 and a twelve month high of $98.14.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.09. ePlus had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $649.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.95 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 579,047 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $43,573,000 after purchasing an additional 313,674 shares in the last quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in ePlus during the fourth quarter valued at about $24,681,000. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 787.7% in the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 181,922 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $15,955,000 after buying an additional 161,428 shares during the period. Medina Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of ePlus by 410.6% in the fourth quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 196,285 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $17,214,000 after acquiring an additional 157,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ePlus by 153.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 210,806 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $18,488,000 after acquiring an additional 127,702 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PLUS. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

About ePlus

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.