AltraVue Capital LLC Purchases 7,460 Shares of ePlus inc. $PLUS

AltraVue Capital LLC grew its position in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,002,883 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 7,460 shares during the quarter. ePlus makes up about 5.9% of AltraVue Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. AltraVue Capital LLC owned approximately 3.79% of ePlus worth $71,215,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in ePlus during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of ePlus by 47.8% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 439 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC acquired a new position in shares of ePlus during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 361.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 448 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ePlus in the 2nd quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $79.83 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $85.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.08. 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 $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.00.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The software maker reported $1.45 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.44. ePlus had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 5.63%.The company had revenue of $614.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $529.60 million. 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 24th will be given 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 yield of 1.3%. ePlus’s payout ratio is 19.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of ePlus from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

Insider Buying and Selling at ePlus

In other ePlus news, Director John E. Callies sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.03, for a total value of $50,416.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.05, for a total transaction of $35,220.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 57,348 shares in the company, valued at $5,049,491.40. This represents a 0.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,271 shares of company stock valued at $113,219. Corporate 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.