ePlus inc. $PLUS Shares Purchased by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 592.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,871 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,300 shares during the quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in ePlus were worth $818,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of ePlus by 118.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 579,047 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $43,573,000 after buying an additional 313,674 shares during the last quarter. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in ePlus in the 4th quarter valued at about $24,681,000. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its holdings in ePlus by 787.7% during the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 181,922 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $15,955,000 after acquiring an additional 161,428 shares in the last quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC raised its position in ePlus by 410.6% during the fourth quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 196,285 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $17,214,000 after acquiring an additional 157,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ePlus by 153.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 210,806 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $18,488,000 after purchasing an additional 127,702 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLUS opened at $92.41 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.20. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.00. ePlus inc. has a 12 month low of $62.11 and a 12 month high of $95.64.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.25 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 11.36%. On average, analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at ePlus

In other news, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 2,818 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.22, for a total value of $268,329.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,935 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $182,006.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 69,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,512,338.16. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 6,107 shares of company stock worth $572,145 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PLUS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research cut ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

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.