Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Maximus, Inc. (NYSE:MMS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,840 shares of the health services provider's stock, valued at approximately $361,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of 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 stake in Maximus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Maximus by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 453 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Maximus in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Maximus by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 786 shares of the health services provider's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.21% of the company's stock.
NYSE MMS traded up $3.25 on Friday, reaching $71.26. The company had a trading volume of 871,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 477,070. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The company's fifty day moving average is $72.77 and its 200 day moving average is $80.22. Maximus, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.77 and a 52-week high of $93.97.
Maximus (NYSE:MMS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The health services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.22. Maximus had a return on equity of 21.95% and a net margin of 5.28%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Maximus, Inc. will post 6.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, February 15th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Maximus's dividend payout ratio is presently 25.81%.
A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MMS. Raymond James raised Maximus from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Maximus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th.
View Our Latest Report on Maximus
In other Maximus news, insider Ilene R. Baylinson sold 14,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 2,512 shares in the company, valued at $171,167.68. This trade represents a 85.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bruce Caswell purchased 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $70.64 per share, with a total value of $247,240.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 275,929 shares in the company, valued at $19,491,624.56. The trade was a 1.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders purchased 7,008 shares of company stock worth $497,835. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.
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.
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