Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Decreases Stock Position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lowered its position in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS – Get Rating) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,705 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 1,084 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Maximus were worth $345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MMS. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in Maximus by 33.7% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 39,200 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,875,000 after buying an additional 9,870 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Maximus by 123.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 30,713 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,252,000 after purchasing an additional 16,962 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Maximus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $539,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Maximus by 1,722.6% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 638,291 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $46,806,000 after purchasing an additional 603,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jensen Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Maximus by 11.8% during the 4th quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc. now owns 65,160 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $4,778,000 after buying an additional 6,880 shares during the last quarter. 97.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Maximus Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE MMS opened at $80.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.88 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60 and a beta of 0.69. Maximus, Inc. has a one year low of $54.46 and a one year high of $85.25. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The health services provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. Maximus had a return on equity of 15.37% and a net margin of 3.62%. The business’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.07 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Maximus, Inc. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Maximus in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price target on Maximus from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th.

Insider Transactions at Maximus

In related news, insider Michelle F. Link sold 1,968 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.53, for a total value of $156,515.04. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,081 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165,501.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Maximus Profile

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MAXIMUS, Inc engages in the operation of government health and human services programs, and the provision of technology solutions to government. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Services, U.S. Federal Services, and Outside the U.S. The U.S. Services segment offers business process services (BPS), appeals and assessments, and related consulting work for U.S.