River Road Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in ePlus inc. $PLUS

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,616,749 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 6,210 shares during the period. ePlus comprises about 1.6% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 6.13% of ePlus worth $141,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Neumeier Poma Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ePlus in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,681,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of ePlus by 1,209.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 265,373 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $23,273,000 after purchasing an additional 245,114 shares during the last quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in ePlus by 787.7% in the 4th quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 181,922 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $15,955,000 after buying an additional 161,428 shares in the last quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC lifted its stake in ePlus by 410.6% in the 4th quarter. Medina Value Partners LLC now owns 196,285 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $17,214,000 after buying an additional 157,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in ePlus by 153.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 210,806 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $18,488,000 after buying an additional 127,702 shares during the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ePlus Trading Up 1.9%

PLUS stock opened at $81.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.01. ePlus inc. has a 12 month low of $62.11 and a 12 month high of $93.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.87.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $569.25 million. ePlus had a return on equity of 11.36% and a net margin of 5.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 17th will be given a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 17th. This is a positive change 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%. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on PLUS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered ePlus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Zacks Research downgraded ePlus from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered ePlus from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, ePlus presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ePlus news, COO Darren S. Raiguel sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.95, for a total transaction of $89,950.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 55,748 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,014,532.60. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock worth $115,757 over the last quarter. 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.