American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in ePlus inc. $PLUS

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 8.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,006,035 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,160 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in ePlus were worth $71,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PLUS. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in ePlus during the 2nd quarter worth about $218,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ePlus by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 27,483 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 9,198 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 14.8% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 102,884 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $7,306,000 after purchasing an additional 13,225 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in ePlus during the second quarter valued at approximately $703,000. Finally, London Co. of Virginia raised its stake in ePlus by 4.2% in the second quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 301,615 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $21,747,000 after buying an additional 12,050 shares in the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PLUS. Zacks Research cut ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings raised ePlus from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insider Activity

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

ePlus Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $80.57 on Thursday. ePlus inc. has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $93.98. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day moving average is $85.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.07.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $614.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $529.60 million. ePlus had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.06%. As a group, analysts expect that ePlus inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. ePlus’s payout ratio is presently 19.88%.

ePlus Company 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.