BlackRock Inc. Purchases New Stake in ePlus inc. $PLUS

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 4,060,186 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $337,929,000. BlackRock Inc. owned 0.16% of ePlus as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of ePlus by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,453,215 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $215,147,000 after buying an additional 8,146 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of ePlus by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,378 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $98,604,000 after acquiring an additional 48,158 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of ePlus by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,019,061 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $73,474,000 after acquiring an additional 8,956 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in ePlus by 118.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 579,047 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $43,573,000 after acquiring an additional 313,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in ePlus by 9.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 471,405 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $33,474,000 after acquiring an additional 39,012 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other ePlus news, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 5,514 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.41, for a total transaction of $531,604.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 84,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,123,410.19. The trade was a 6.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John E. Callies sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.09, for a total transaction of $44,045.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,818,882.32. This trade represents a 2.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 13,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,301,128 over the last quarter. 2.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of ePlus stock opened at $86.16 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $86.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.00. ePlus inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.07 and a fifty-two week high of $98.14.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $649.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $639.95 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 4.91%. On average, analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. ePlus’s payout ratio is 23.63%.

ePlus 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.