Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Makes New Investment in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,344 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,161,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co owned 0.06% of ePlus as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ePlus in the third quarter valued at $20,990,000. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of ePlus by 17.2% during the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 1,624,923 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $117,157,000 after purchasing an additional 238,070 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 152,128 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of ePlus by 138.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 204,857 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $14,770,000 after buying an additional 118,874 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other ePlus news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 400 shares of ePlus stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.05, for a total value of $35,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 57,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,049,491.40. The trade was a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John E. Callies sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.03, for a total transaction of $50,416.80. Following the sale, the director owned 21,428 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,929,162.84. The trade was a 2.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 1,271 shares of company stock valued at $113,219 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Stock Down 0.2%

ePlus stock opened at $80.43 on Friday. ePlus inc. has a twelve month low of $53.83 and a twelve month high of $93.98. The company has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $85.02 and its 200 day moving average is $81.07.

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

ePlus Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 24th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PLUS. Weiss Ratings upgraded ePlus from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Zacks Research lowered ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

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.