ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $88.65, but opened at $83.15. ePlus shares last traded at $79.0950, with a volume of 46,432 shares.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Stock Down 9.6%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $82.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $84.65. The stock has a market cap of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.04.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $581.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.25 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.74 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLUS. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of ePlus by 333.0% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,361 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 4,123 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in ePlus by 20.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 45,612 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $2,784,000 after acquiring an additional 7,742 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in ePlus by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,666 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in ePlus by 103.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 226,399 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $13,817,000 after acquiring an additional 114,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in ePlus by 628.3% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,066 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 2,645 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.