Marshall Wace LLP Purchases 208,463 Shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 1,319.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 224,267 shares of the health services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 208,463 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.39% of Maximus worth $16,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 205,564 shares in the last quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Maximus by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Van Berkom & Associates Inc. now owns 1,256,418 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $93,792,000 after buying an additional 98,264 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Maximus by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,000,664 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $74,700,000 after buying an additional 71,598 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Maximus during the 4th quarter valued at about $71,443,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Maximus by 74.8% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 882,953 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $65,912,000 after acquiring an additional 377,705 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maximus Stock Down 0.1 %

MMS opened at $67.29 on Monday. Maximus, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.77 and a 1-year high of $93.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.68.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity at Maximus

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 value of $988,030.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at approximately $171,167.68. The trade was a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,225,347.87. This trade represents a 11.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Maximus Company 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.