Darren Raiguel Sells 1,000 Shares of ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.83, for a total value of $90,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 68,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,179,709.88. This trade represents a 1.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $88.58. 171,688 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 210,414. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $85.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.00. ePlus inc. has a 52-week low of $69.07 and a 52-week high of $98.14.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. ePlus had a net margin of 4.91% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $649.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.95 million. Equities research analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s payout ratio is 23.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PLUS. Zacks Research raised shares of ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, ePlus presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Institutional Trading of ePlus

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ePlus by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC grew its holdings in shares of ePlus by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ePlus by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,544 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $662,000 after acquiring an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al raised its position in shares of ePlus by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 3,859 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of ePlus by 0.8% during the second quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 31,946 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,303,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.