Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Holdings in ePlus inc. $PLUS

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,310,378 shares of the software maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,158 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in ePlus were worth $98,604,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter worth approximately $24,681,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in ePlus by 1,209.9% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 265,373 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $23,273,000 after purchasing an additional 245,114 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in ePlus by 787.7% during the fourth quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 181,922 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $15,955,000 after purchasing an additional 161,428 shares during the period. Medina Value Partners LLC boosted its holdings in ePlus by 410.6% in the fourth quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 196,285 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $17,214,000 after purchasing an additional 157,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ePlus by 153.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 210,806 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $18,488,000 after purchasing an additional 127,702 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PLUS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research downgraded ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other ePlus news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total transaction of $89,950.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 55,748 shares in the company, 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 is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,289 shares of company stock worth $115,757. 1.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

ePlus Stock Performance

NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $93.11 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $83.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.02. ePlus inc. has a 52-week low of $62.11 and a 52-week high of $95.64.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $569.25 million. Equities analysts forecast that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a positive change from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. ePlus’s payout ratio is currently 22.31%.

About ePlus

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.