ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Stock: Insider Elaine Marion Sells 158 Shares

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Elaine Marion sold 158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.04, for a total value of $15,016.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,992,959.04. This represents a 0.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of PLUS stock traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $94.75. The company had a trading volume of 270,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,285. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.26. ePlus inc. has a 52-week low of $70.75 and a 52-week high of $98.14. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.96.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last released 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 return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 4.91%. The business had revenue of $649.11 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $639.95 million. Analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLUS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in ePlus by 2,104.3% during the second quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 507 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in ePlus in the second quarter worth $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in ePlus by 19.3% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 940 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in ePlus in the second quarter valued at $150,000. Finally, Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in ePlus in the second quarter valued at $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

About ePlus

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ: PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps organizations design, implement, and manage information technology environments. The company serves commercial businesses, government agencies, and other institutions with solutions spanning networking, data centers, cloud computing, cybersecurity, collaboration, and digital infrastructure.

Through its technology and professional services businesses, ePlus provides hardware, software, consulting, systems integration, managed services, and IT asset management.