Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Holdings in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,548,284 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 205,564 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 11.46% of Maximus worth $488,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MMS. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Maximus by 79.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 356 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Maximus during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Maximus by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Maximus in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Maximus by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 786 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $59,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Maximus Price Performance

NYSE:MMS opened at $68.64 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $69.57 and its 200 day moving average is $77.51. Maximus, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.77 and a 12 month high of $93.97. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Maximus’s payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Maximus news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of Maximus 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 directly owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,167.68. The trade was a 85.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total transaction of $165,144.69. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,347.87. This represents a 11.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James raised Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th.

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.