Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,563 shares of the health services provider’s stock after buying an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Maximus were worth $383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MMS. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Maximus by 346.3% in the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 118,290 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $9,920,000 after purchasing an additional 91,788 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Maximus by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,880 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $1,080,000 after buying an additional 3,444 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,434,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Maximus by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 28,046 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $2,352,000 after buying an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambiar Investors LLC raised its stake in Maximus by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 137,964 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $11,570,000 after buying an additional 1,977 shares during the last quarter. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MMS. StockNews.com upgraded Maximus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Maximus from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd.

Maximus Stock Performance

MMS stock opened at $81.04 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Maximus, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.39 and a 12-month high of $89.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.83 and a beta of 0.72.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The health services provider reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.06. Maximus had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 3.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Maximus, Inc. will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. Maximus’s payout ratio is presently 39.74%.

Insider Transactions at Maximus

In related news, CFO David Mutryn sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.95, for a total transaction of $671,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,124 shares in the company, valued at $430,159.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Maximus 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.