ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

ePlus (NASDAQ:PLUS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

ePlus Trading Down 2.3 %

NASDAQ:PLUS traded down $1.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.62. 172,562 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 189,167. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. ePlus has a fifty-two week low of $56.33 and a fifty-two week high of $106.98. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $95.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.13.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Elaine D. Marion sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.19, for a total transaction of $460,950.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 64,442 shares in the company, valued at $5,940,907.98. This represents a 7.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 2.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ePlus

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of ePlus by 82.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 80,328 shares of the software maker's stock worth $7,899,000 after buying an additional 36,267 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in ePlus in the third quarter worth $76,000. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in ePlus by 62.7% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 36,915 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,630,000 after purchasing an additional 14,227 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of ePlus by 20.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 968,998 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $95,291,000 after purchasing an additional 164,016 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of ePlus by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,021,341 shares of the software maker's stock worth $100,439,000 after purchasing an additional 6,241 shares in the last quarter. 93.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About ePlus

ePlus inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides information technology (IT) solutions that enable organizations to optimize their IT environment and supply chain processes in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments, Technology and Financing. The Technology segment offers hardware, perpetual and subscription software, maintenance, software assurance, and internally provided and outsourced services; managed services or infrastructure and cloud; and enhanced maintenance support, service desk, storage-as-a-service, cloud hosted and managed, and managed security services; and professional, staff augmentation, cloud consulting, consulting, and security services.

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