Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $873,000 Position in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,600 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $873,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Medina Value Partners LLC purchased a new stake in ePlus during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,730,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 161,166 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $14,134,000 after buying an additional 13,369 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 63.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 51,815 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $4,489,000 after buying an additional 20,163 shares during the last quarter. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ePlus during the fourth quarter worth $1,511,000. Finally, Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of ePlus by 74.9% during the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 69,187 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $6,068,000 after buying an additional 29,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Stock Performance

Shares of PLUS stock opened at $80.82 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $83.37 and a 200 day moving average of $83.16. The stock has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.02. ePlus inc. has a twelve month low of $62.11 and a twelve month high of $93.98.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 5.24%.The business had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.25 million. On average, research analysts predict that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is an increase from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.31%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total value of $89,950.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,014,532.60. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $115,757. Company insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLUS has been the topic of several research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings cut ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

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.