Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its stake in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 19.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 176,003 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,073 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.31% of Maximus worth $13,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MMS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Maximus during the fourth quarter valued at about $71,443,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Maximus by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,548,284 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $488,829,000 after purchasing an additional 205,564 shares in the last quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Maximus by 43.5% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 551,146 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $41,143,000 after purchasing an additional 167,019 shares during the period. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in Maximus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,266,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Maximus by 285.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 170,971 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $15,927,000 after buying an additional 126,573 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on MMS. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Maximus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Raymond James upgraded Maximus from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Insider Activity at Maximus

In other Maximus news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,097 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,347.87. This represents a 11.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total transaction of $988,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Maximus Stock Performance

Maximus stock opened at $68.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. Maximus, Inc. has a one year low of $63.77 and a one year high of $93.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $69.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.71.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th were paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.81%.

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.