Maximus (NYSE:MMS) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Maximus (NYSE:MMS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Maximus Stock Up 0.4%

Maximus stock opened at $75.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20 and a beta of 0.61. Maximus has a 12-month low of $63.77 and a 12-month high of $93.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $68.58 and its 200 day moving average is $72.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The health services provider reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.64. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.29 billion. Maximus had a net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Maximus will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. Maximus’s payout ratio is 23.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.14, for a total value 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. This represents a 85.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of Maximus stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.71, for a total value of $165,144.69. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,225,347.87. The trade was a 11.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maximus

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MMS. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Maximus by 79.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 356 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Maximus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Maximus by 65.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in Maximus by 17,533.3% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 529 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Maximus in the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. 97.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.