Insider Selling: ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Sells $94,680.00 in Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Monday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.68, for a total transaction of $94,680.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 65,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,157,608.48. This represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of PLUS stock opened at $97.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. ePlus inc. has a 52 week low of $73.08 and a 52 week high of $99.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $92.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.99.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.47 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $667.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $636.10 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 11.93%. Analysts forecast that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently 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 Tuesday, October 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ePlus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in ePlus by 2.5% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 942,826 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $84,864,000 after acquiring an additional 22,741 shares in the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of ePlus during the 3rd quarter worth about $234,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of ePlus by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 319,166 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $28,857,000 after purchasing an additional 72,511 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of ePlus by 204.2% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 5,485 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 3,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc bought a new stake in shares of ePlus in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,848,000. 93.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus inc. is a technology solutions provider that helps businesses and public-sector organizations plan, acquire, implement and manage information technology. Its offerings include data center and cloud infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, collaboration tools, software and related professional and managed services. The company also provides financing solutions for technology purchases, including leasing and other equipment financing arrangements. Founded in 1990, ePlus serves customers across the United States and the United Kingdom.