Maximus (NYSE:MMS) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Maximus Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MMS opened at $75.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.15.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The health services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.64. Maximus had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Maximus will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Maximus

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maximus

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in Maximus by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Maximus by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 1,833 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in Maximus by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 9,877 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $674,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Maximus by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 52,400 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $3,912,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Maximus Company Profile

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.