Lazard Asset Management LLC Purchases Shares of 47,854 ePlus inc. $PLUS

Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in ePlus inc. (NASDAQ:PLUS) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 47,854 shares of the software maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,601,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.18% of ePlus as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PLUS. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ePlus by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,129 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Inceptionr LLC grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 5.9% in the first quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 3,419 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,544 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $662,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in shares of ePlus by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 3,859 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in ePlus by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 14,164 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.80% of the company’s stock.

ePlus Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:PLUS opened at $92.41 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.24. ePlus inc. has a 12 month low of $62.11 and a 12 month high of $95.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.02.

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The software maker reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.02. ePlus had a net margin of 5.24% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $581.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $569.25 million. Equities analysts forecast that ePlus inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ePlus Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 17th were issued a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from ePlus’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 17th. ePlus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.31%.

Insider Activity at ePlus

In other news, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 2,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.22, for a total value of $268,329.96. 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 1,935 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.06, for a total value of $182,006.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 69,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,512,338.16. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,107 shares of company stock worth $572,145. Insiders own 1.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLUS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered ePlus from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of ePlus in a research report on Friday, July 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

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.