Maximus (NYSE:MMS) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Maximus (NYSE:MMS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday.

Maximus Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE MMS opened at $75.31 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.15. The stock has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.61. Maximus has a twelve month low of $63.77 and a twelve month high of $93.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The health services provider reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.57 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Maximus will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio is 25.81%.

Insider Activity at Maximus

In other Maximus news, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $165,144.69. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,225,347.87. This trade represents a 11.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value of $988,030.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Maximus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MMS. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Maximus by 79.8% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 356 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Maximus in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Maximus by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Maximus by 67.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 732 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Maximus during the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

About Maximus

Maximus, Inc operates as a provider of government services in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Federal Services, U.S. Services, and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers program eligibility support and enrollment; centralized multilingual customer contact centers, multichannel, and digital self-service options for enrollment; application assistance and independent health plan choice counseling; beneficiary outreach, education, eligibility, enrollment, and redeterminations; and person-centered independent disability, long-term sick, and other health assessments.