Comerica Bank Buys 29,631 Shares of ePlus inc. $PLUS

Comerica Bank boosted its stake in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 74.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,187 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,631 shares during the period. Comerica Bank’s holdings in ePlus were worth $6,068,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in ePlus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC bought a new stake in ePlus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in ePlus by 47.8% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in ePlus by 361.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 904 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of ePlus stock opened at $84.69 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.01. ePlus inc. has a 1-year low of $62.11 and a 1-year high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $529.60 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.74 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s payout ratio is 19.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ePlus

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 400 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.05, for a total transaction of $35,220.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 57,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,049,491.40. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

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.