Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 205,564 Shares of Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,548,284 shares of the health services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 205,564 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Maximus worth $488,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Maximus by 79.8% in 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. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA increased its position in shares of Maximus by 2.7% during the third quarter. Petrus Trust Company LTA now owns 7,084 shares of the health services provider’s stock worth $660,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Maximus by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 52,400 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $3,912,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Maximus by 6.5% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,927 shares of the health services provider’s stock valued at $366,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 2,512 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jan Madsen sold 2,439 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,225,347.87. This represents a 11.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Maximus Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:MMS 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.51. Maximus, Inc. has a one year low of $63.77 and a one year high of $93.97. The firm has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Maximus Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.