ePlus inc. $PLUS Stock Position Increased by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 102,884 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 13,225 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in ePlus were worth $7,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PLUS. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ePlus during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,990,000. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 17.2% in the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,624,923 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $117,157,000 after purchasing an additional 238,070 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in ePlus by 177.8% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 237,668 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $16,877,000 after purchasing an additional 152,128 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in ePlus by 138.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 204,857 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $14,770,000 after buying an additional 118,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in ePlus by 103.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 226,399 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $13,817,000 after buying an additional 114,900 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ePlus Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ PLUS opened at $82.41 on Wednesday. ePlus inc. has a one year low of $53.83 and a one year high of $93.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $80.26.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $529.60 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.63%. Research analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

ePlus Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PLUS shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, ePlus presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ePlus news, Director John E. Callies sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.03, for a total value of $50,416.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,929,162.84. This represents a 2.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.69, for a total value of $27,582.59. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,058,611.53. This trade represents a 0.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 1,271 shares of company stock valued at $113,219 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

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.