Key Points
- COO Darren Raiguel sold 2,783 ePlus shares for about $273,068, reducing his direct holdings by 4.28% to 62,253 shares.
- ePlus beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.82 versus $1.47 forecast and revenue of $667.92 million versus $636.10 million expected.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.27 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 1.1%; analysts’ average rating remains “Hold.”
ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) COO Darren Raiguel sold 1,485 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.52, for a total value of $146,302.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 60,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,986,863.36. The trade was a 2.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
ePlus Trading Down 0.7%
ePlus stock traded down $0.69 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $96.44. 180,683 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 254,617. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.05. ePlus inc. has a 12-month low of $73.08 and a 12-month high of $99.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95.
ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The software maker reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.47 by $0.35. The company had revenue of $667.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $636.10 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.93% and a net margin of 5.02%. Equities research analysts anticipate that ePlus inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.
ePlus Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be given 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 is Tuesday, November 24th. ePlus's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.45%.
Institutional Trading of ePlus
Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in ePlus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,186,000. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of ePlus by 2,235.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 154,737 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $13,928,000 after purchasing an additional 148,112 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of ePlus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,102,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,310,378 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $98,604,000 after purchasing an additional 48,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of ePlus in the 2nd quarter valued at $9,796,000. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts have recently commented on PLUS shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of ePlus in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of ePlus from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold".
Read Our Latest Analysis on PLUS
ePlus Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
ePlus inc. is a technology solutions provider that helps businesses and public-sector organizations plan, acquire, implement and manage information technology. Its offerings include data center and cloud infrastructure, networking, cybersecurity, collaboration tools, software and related professional and managed services. The company also provides financing solutions for technology purchases, including leasing and other equipment financing arrangements. Founded in 1990, ePlus serves customers across the United States and the United Kingdom.
Further Reading
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