Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC decreased its position in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 460,558 shares of the health services provider’s stock after selling 104,052 shares during the quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned about 0.76% of Maximus worth $34,381,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Maximus in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Maximus during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Maximus in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Maximus by 150.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 862 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. 97.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Maximus Stock Performance

NYSE MMS opened at $69.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.49. Maximus, Inc. has a 1-year low of $68.30 and a 1-year high of $93.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.32.

Maximus (NYSE:MMS) last released 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 net margin of 5.28% and a return on equity of 21.95%. Equities analysts predict that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.05 EPS for the current year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, February 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Maximus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of 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 for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised Maximus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Raymond B. Ruddy bought 3,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.46 per share, for a total transaction of $249,395.40. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 112,520 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,040,679.20. This trade represents a 3.20 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bruce Caswell purchased 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $70.64 per share, for a total transaction of $247,240.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,929 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,624.56. This trade represents a 1.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 7,063 shares of company stock worth $502,017. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.