Insider Selling: ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Sells $466,429.86 in Stock

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) CFO Elaine Marion sold 4,842 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.33, for a total value of $466,429.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,635,019.47. This represents a 5.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS traded down $2.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $94.75. 270,534 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 211,285. The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.96. ePlus inc. has a one year low of $70.75 and a one year high of $98.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $90.23 and a 200 day moving average of $86.26.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.09. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 4.91%. The company had revenue of $649.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $639.95 million. Sell-side analysts predict that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ePlus during the 2nd quarter worth $337,929,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of ePlus by 118.2% in the first 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 period. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new position in shares of ePlus in the second quarter worth about $22,888,250. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of ePlus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,210,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of ePlus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,796,000. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PLUS. Zacks Research raised ePlus from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, ePlus currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

ePlus Company Profile

ePlus inc. (NASDAQ: PLUS) is a technology solutions provider that helps organizations design, implement, and manage information technology environments. The company serves commercial businesses, government agencies, and other institutions with solutions spanning networking, data centers, cloud computing, cybersecurity, collaboration, and digital infrastructure.

Through its technology and professional services businesses, ePlus provides hardware, software, consulting, systems integration, managed services, and IT asset management.