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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Maximus (NYSE:MMS) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Maximus Trading Down 7.3 %

NYSE MMS opened at $70.29 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 1.49 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.53. Maximus has a one year low of $69.72 and a one year high of $93.97.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a net margin of 5.78% and a return on equity of 20.95%. Equities analysts forecast that Maximus will post 5.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s payout ratio is currently 24.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michelle F. Link sold 2,208 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.83, for a total value of $163,016.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,567 shares in the company, valued at $484,841.61. This trade represents a 25.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Bruce Caswell bought 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $70.64 per share, with a total value of $247,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,929 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,624.56. This represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 7,063 shares of company stock worth $502,017 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Maximus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,618,000. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in Maximus by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 296,476 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $22,132,000 after acquiring an additional 83,390 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in Maximus by 213.5% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,500 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 5,789 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Maximus by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 929,066 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $86,552,000 after acquiring an additional 102,350 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Maximus by 143.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 59,448 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $5,538,000 after acquiring an additional 35,012 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.